The King Who Conquered
by Dan68
Summary: After leading a rather long life, Harry Potter voluntarily walks through the veil in the department of Mysteries. The entity of life and death gives him a choice between life and death and Harry chooses life. Watch as Harry conquer first Westeros and then the rest of the Planetos and forge the greatest empire since the destruction of the Valyrian free hold.
1. Prologue

**The King who Conquered**

 **F/N:** **Hello all. A crossover story of Harry Potter and Game of Thrones has been on my mind since the time I read my first HP-GOT crossover story and here it is.**

 **Now I proudly present my own HP-GOT crossover story 'The King who Conquered'. This story will differ vastly from the cannon story but will have the essence of it. I do not own none of the characters used in this story.**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for his excellent work of editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Prologue:**

Harry opened his eyes and blinked a few times to come out of his stupor. The last thing he remembered is giving complete reins along with all the secrets of, the houses of Potter, Peverell and Black to his son Nicholas Hadrian Potter, daughter Elizabeth Daphne Weasley nee Potter and his godson Edward Remus Black before walking into the veil of death in the department of mysteries voluntarily.

Harry and his friends had won the war against Voldemort during his 7th year at Hogwarts and he thought it would be the end of the pureblood bigots. But unfortunately, most of the purebloods managed to cling to their positions in both the Ministry and Wizengamot. At first, they remained silent and even helped the Wizarding community to recover. However, within four years; they again started their pureblood bigotry and tried to condemn the muggle-born and half-bloods. They even tried to make Harry and others who fought in the battle of Hogwarts to appear before a commission headed by Dolores Umbridge, to make them answer for their supposed war-crimes but thoroughly rebuffed. The at-the-time minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was busy building up the Wizarding world, could not effectively curb the growing influence of the pureblood faction.

The pureblood fanatics took this opportunity to target Harry and his friends and started vilifying them through Daily Prophet. Harry, getting tired of being ostracized throughout his life decided to take matters into his hand and for the second time in his life, decided to step into Wizengamot, this time voluntarily, and take up his position of Head of houses Potter, Peverell and Black and within three years, he became the Minister of Magic.

It was during his campaign for the post of Minister of Magic that Harry met Daphne Greengrass, the love of his life. After his fallout with Ginny after the war, he thought that he would never find love again. But Daphne managed to slowly worm her way into his heart and helped him become Minister and put a stop to the pureblood fanatics. It took some time, but after another five years, they successfully purged the British Wizarding community of Pureblood fanatics.

After another two years, he stepped down from his Minister post and made Hermione his successor, making her the first muggle-born Minister. The Wizarding world refused to let go of Harry so he took up the post of Supreme Mugwump while Daphne became the chief warlock. They continued in their post for a few decades before giving chance to the younger generation. During an attack at the ICW summit in Japan, Daphne lost her life at the age of 127. Harry was devastated at her loss and was never fully recovered from it. But he lived on to make some of Daphne's dreams come true. They finally managed to successfully integrate themselves into muggle world and ended the need for the statute of secrecy. They also made muggle gadgets work with magic instead of electricity and constructed an international cosmopolitan city where Muggles, Witches, Wizards and all other magical races including centaurs, goblins, dwarfs and other such sentient beings of near-human intelligence have an equal footing in the society. They named the city as Avalon and Harry became the first Mayor of the city and he held the seat till the time of his voluntary death.

Now, at a ripe age of 214, Harry decided to leave everything to the younger generations and go for the next-great-adventure with his wife and love of life, Daphne Potter, who he is sure, is waiting for him. And so he settled all his affairs and informed his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and their children of his decision. As expected, there was a mass outcry at his decision to end his life voluntarily.

But being the stubborn bastard he is, proceed with his decision. His walking through the veil has been broadcast throughout the world and viewed by millions.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts Harry took a notice of his surroundings. The ground beneath him is solid. His surroundings were completely dark with some sort of fog here and there. He could feel the elder wand, invisible cloak and resurrection stone he bought with him starting to vibrate.

A deep raspy voice rang out of the fog in front of him "Greetings Harry James Peverell. I have been waiting for you for some time"

Harry couldn't help but feel a cold shiver run through his entire being when he heard the voice. Getting his shudder under control, Harry finally spoke out "May I know who you are and why have you been waiting for me?"

The fog in front of him thickened into a six foot man with broad shoulders wearing a black business suit. He has black hair and charcoal black eyes. The man in front of Harry could have passed as a normal human albeit a handsome one but still a human if it wasn't for the raw power emanating from him. Power the likes of which Harry had never seen before. Maybe the word devilishly handsome came from this being.

"Nice to finally meet you Mr Peverell. You humans may know me as death, reaper are the more populous names your kind name me whit." spoke the person in front of Harry.

Harry stayed stunned for a minute before gaining his composure and said "Uh..um… Pleasure to meet you Mr Death. Do you greet everyone dead like you did whit me?"

Death chuckled and said "No Mr Peverell. This privilege is reserved only for some people. And you Mr Peverell are one of those people"

Harry accepted the answer and asked "So, what did I do to acquire this rare pleasure of meeting you directly? And please call me Harry. Calling Peverell makes me feel old. I mean, I know that I am old… but you know what I mean"

Death let out a rather boisterous laugh and said "I'm impressed Harry. Not many people can stand before me and talk to me like I'm their old buddy"

"Anyway, on to the business. The reason I'm here is to give you a choice"

Harry, puzzled with the answer he got "Choice? If it is a choice between heaven and hell, then please take me to wherever Daphne ended up being"

Death looked amused at his answer "No Harry. That is not the choice you are being given. No. Instead, you are being given a choice between life and death"

"Life and Death?" asked Harry, looking even more puzzled than before.

"Yes. Life and Death. Let me explain what I meant by that"

Death took a moment before saying "If you choose death, then your soul will be passed on to the after-life where you can join the rest of your friends and family. But, if you choose life, then you will reborn on different dimension or a planet if you will and continue your life till I come to collect you again"

"I sense a 'but' coming" said Harry.

"There is not 'but' here Harry. Your choice is yours. Not even I can question that. But before you make your choice, I want you to listen to what I have to say"

Seeing Harry giving his nod to continue, Death started "There is a world. Much like your own Earth known as Planetos. I will not bore you with the details of that world. But I will say this that an ancient evil has awoken and the life on Planetos will be extinct within the next century if something or someone stands against it. And I want you to be that someone"

Harry immediately blasted out "Why should I care about some world I don't even know? Why don't you go and destroy the evil?"

"True, that I can destroy the evil with in the blink of an eye. But therein lay the problem. We divine beings are forbidden from interfering in the matters of the mortal realms. And to answer your first question, I know that you care because you had the power of hallows with you for almost two centuries and never once used it for you own ends. Instead, you helped your world become a better place by helping it integrates with non-magical society, leading to a new age. You have, what your friend Hermione says 'People saving thing' and it won't allow you to not help that world"

Harry knew what Death said is true. So he snarled out "Dammit. Why is it always me? All I wanted was a normal life and couldn't get it. Now it seems like I can't even get a normal death. I wanted be with Daphne forever after. Why does it always have to be me?"

Death let him be for a few minutes, allowing him to let out all the anguish he welled up inside him. After some time, Harry finally said "Alright Mr Death. You got yourself a deal. I will do whatever I can to help this world"

Death eyed Harry carefully and said "Once you make this choice, there will be no turning back, Harry. So choose carefully"

"I appreciate the sentiment Mr Death. But I think you already know what my answer is going to be even before asking the question. So, how do I get to this new world?" answered Harry.

"Alright. Since you made your choice, I will guide you through what is going to happen. First, even though Planetos has magic, it is not the type of magic you are accustomed to. It is more raw and instinctual rather than the finely refined magic you are accustomed to using. Therefore, your methods of transfiguration, charms and other subjects will not work while the more instinct based magic like apparition or a wand less shied works. But there is a place known as Valyria. It is an ancient kingdom which existed some five thousand years ago but it is now in ruins. If you want to improve your magic, you will find help there in tomes stored in their underground tunnels. Though, I must warn you that going there is a rather dangerous thing to do. The entire region is filled with toxic fumes and lava. And another ruined city known as Chroyane but it is under a powerful curse. Unless you could find the means to lift the curse, that place will not be of any use to you"

"I thought magic is the same anywhere. How come I have to learn different techniques to do same transfiguration or other things" asked Harry confused about the difference in the magic of two different worlds.

Death shook his head and said "Your statement is true to a point. Magic, at a basic level is same anywhere. To give you a proper analogy, Magic is like an artificial intelligence with a blank slate. The more people use it, the more it refines itself so it comes easier for the future generations. Unlike the people on earth, the people who discovered magic on Planetos are more interested in using it for war and destruction rather than refining it for the betterment of their lives, which eventually led to their destruction and complete abandonment of magic. And it will take at least a thousand generations of rigorous usage and study to make the magic of this planet as refined and tame as the magic on Earth"

Harry nodded accepting Death's answer. It types of made sense to what Death said. Magical users on Earth are dated back to at least seven thousand years and they have been practicing it continuously since then.

"Now comes second thing. Do you want to have the memories of your older self with you?"

Harry mulled over the question for a few minutes and instead of answering the question he asked another question in return "If I do not have memories of my older-self, will my character change? I mean, people's character is made from the experiences they face in their life. So, what if I do not want my memories and my character changes to an arrogant and ignorant fool?"

Death gave a serene smile and answered "Even if you do not have your memories, instincts are something that are ingrained in the soul of a person. And since I will be sending your soul to the new world, you will have the instincts of your older-self. So I doubt you will become an ignorant and arrogant fool"

What death said made sense to Harry. So he finally gave his answer "If that is the case, then I want to have a fresh start in this new world. But I want you to arrange my older-self as an echo of sorts to guide me if I find my path to be difficult. The memories of my older-self are full of moments with Daphne and I do not want to crave for something I will not be having in this new world. Maybe, when I return next time, I will finally have my wish to be with her. "

Death nodded at Harry's answer before he said "If your choice. But remember this Harry James, love is eternal and can transcend even the realms of mortal and immortal worlds. And if the love between you and your wife is true, then no power in this universe can stop her from coming with you to this new world"

Listening to Death, Harry immediately brightened up and eagerly asked "Are you saying that Daphne will be born in this new world along with me?"

"I do not yet know, Harry. But if she does, it won't be beside you. Maybe you will meet her later in your life. But if she does have a birth in this new world and by any chance meet her, you will instinctively know that she is the one for you. You will have other women in your life, but she will be the one who fulfills you completely"

Hearing Death's answer, Harry went into a world of his own question like will she be born in this new world? Will he recognize her? Will she recognize him? And many more. But Death put a full stop to his mulling and said "Right then. Since all your doubts have been cleared, it is time to introduce you to the new world. But unfortunately, your old body will be destroyed as only your soul can be transferred into a new baby".

"So, I will have a new body there. At least I will have my older self to guide me"

"True. Also, you will have an instinctive grasp of everything you require to excel in this new world like sword training, horse riding, battle tactics, science, mathematics, economics and medicine. Consider it my gift. Now it is time to for you to meet your new family"

Harry nodded. "I am ready to face my new destiny", said Harry and closed his eyes.

"Good bye and good luck Harry James Potter. I hope the next time we meet, it will be a long time to come….." heard Harry before he faded from Death's realm.

* * *

 **F/N:** **There it is. What do you think of it. Please leave a review of your opinions and suggestions. Thank you.**


	2. A New Beginnings

**The King who Conquered**

 **For my story's convenience, the Tourney of Harrenhal occurs at last month of 277 AC. Also, Robert's rebellion is stretched to four years. So it will start in 278 AC and end in 282 AC. And several more adjustments have been made to the original cannon story to accommodate my own story. Adjustments made will be announced before the beginning of the relevant chapter.**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for his excellent work of editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 : A New Beginnings**

 **Castle of Winterfell (278 AC):**

"Push my lady. Push a little harder. You are almost there" encouraged the lady healer.

Arya Stark, formerly of house Baratheon screamed and pushed harder and then collapsed in her bed even as the sound of a baby wailing was heard all across the castle of Winterfell.

"It is a boy, my lady", the healer told her.

Arya looked at her new born child with a tired smile. He looked just like his father Brandon with raven black hair but had the eyes of her brother Robert Baratheon.

A voice whispered in the back of Arya's head to name him. "His name is Aiden Stark", she said tiredly. Just then, the door to her room opened and a ragged looking Brandon Stark, her husband and his brother Eddard Stark entered the room.

Brandon took the baby from healer's hand and looked at him with a proud smile. "He looks just like you Brandon" said Ned stark, who was standing beside his brother and smiling fondly at his nephew.

"Aye, that he does but he has the eyes of his mother and my good-brother, blue eyes with flecks of green and violet. Robert would have been joyous to hear this news, were the times we are in were different"

Ned's face changed on hearing his brother. He looked at the baby in the Brandon's arms with a sad smile on his face. "What did you name him, Lady Stark?"

"He will be called Aiden Stark"

"Aiden, a strong name for a strong boy. He will make the Starks proud" said Brandon in his usual booming voice.

"Indeed he will. You both look like you just survived a long winter alone. What happened dear?" asked a concerned Arya.

Ned took the child in his hands and started cooed at the babe. The baby stopped crying and looked at the stranger's face with unbridled curiosity and started gesticulating his hands around. Ned pointed a finger at the baby and the baby caught the finger with both his hands with a firm grip (as much as a grip a baby can muster). Ned observed that the child had bright and intelligent eyes.

"Look here Bran. We have a curious little Stark on our hands. And curiosity and a Stark at the same place is a recipe for disaster" said Ned with a real smile, still cooing at the baby.

Bran let out a boisterous laugh while Arya let out a soft chuckle. "Aye, that be true. All we have to do is look at Benjen to know it is true" and let out another laugh.

"That he may be, but you dodged my question, husband. What happened to make you look so grim?" asked Arya in a tired voice.

Brandon closed his eyes and took a deep breath "As you know, Lyanna has not been seen since the end of the tourney of Harrenhal. After the tourney, she was supposed to spend a summer at Riverrun and then come to Winterfell. But she never reached Riverrun. She went missing somewhere between Harrenhal and Riverrun. Whispers reached us that she was last seen with Rhaegar Targaryen, the dragon prince. Father went to King's Landing to speak to King Aerys Targaryen about Lyanna's disappearance but he has not been heard from since then. Robert is calling all the banners and sends a raven for an alliance to end the Mad King's rule. But with my father being still there, I cannot do anything. So I'll be traveling to King's Landing on the morrow. Ned will be raising men and calling banners just in case. Be safe love. And protect our son"

Arya stifled her sobs on hearing her husband. "Do you have to go, my Lord. Surely you can send others in your stead. You have a new born son and he needs his father"

"Arya speaks true, Bran. Your wife and son needs you. I will go in your stead to Kings Landing and rescue father from mad king" pleaded Eddard Stark.

"No Ned. We already discussed this. I have to do this as is my duty as his son"

"He is my father too, Bran" said Ned heatedly.

"And I am the Lord Stark and I will not have my brother sacrificed in my stead". Ned looked like he wanted to say something but Brandon bellowed "I order you as the Lord Stark, Lord Paramount and Warden of North to stand down Eddard Stark"

Ned gnashed his teeth but bowed to his brother and said "As you wish, my lord"

Brandon released a tired sigh and said "I am sorry I had to do it Ned. But I can't send my brother knowingly to viper's nest"

"I understand brother. Now I will leave you two with your son" and with that, Ned left the room, leaving Brandon, his wife and his new born son.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Arya. But I have no other choice" said Brandon sitting on her bed with their son in his arms.

Arya knows well what the fate of her good-father and now her husband is going to be once he went into the hands of the mad king. The mad king is just that, mad. Hearing whispers of treachery and backstabbing around every corner and killing his subjects for the tiniest of slights against him. And if her husband loses his life in the hands of the mad king, then Eddard Stark will be assuming the lordship of the North. Ned is an honorable man and she took comfort in that that unlike other Lords who would have no doubt arranged for the murder of her and her newborn son, Ned would honor his brother and give her son the Lordship of North when he comes of age.

"I understand, my lord. But promise me to come back to me" replied a teary eyed Arya

"You know I cannot do that, love. But I promise I will fight to my strength to return to you and our son as soon as possible"

Upon hearing Brandon's reply, Arya went into another fit of sobs. Brandon soothed Arya while still caressing his son. Arya went to sleep somewhere between her sobs and Brandon slowly eased her into bed and covered her with a blanket and looked to his son who was looking at him with wide eyes full of curiosity.

"I'm sorry for doing this, my son. But I cannot leave my sister and father alone with those mad Targaryens. Maybe one day you will understand and forgive me for why I had to do what I am about to do" His son gave an almost imperceptible nod on hearing his father as if he understood what he said.

 **Tower of Joy, Dorne (282 AC)**

"I'm sorry Ned. We should have gone straight to father instead of running off. But the mad king was already onto Rhaegar's plan to usurp him and we couldn't risk getting caught. I'm so sorry for father and brother's death. I wish I could see his son. What is his name?" whispered Lyanna Targaryen formerly of house Stark on her deathbed.

By the time Ned got hold of Lyanna's location and reached there, Lyanna is already on her last legs. "Don't worry about that, Lyanna. I'm sure that Brandon will forgive you. He always does. And his son's name is Aiden. Aiden Stark"

"Aiden" Lyanna smiled, still tears brimming in her eyes. "I wish I could see him and play with him. I wish Aiden and my little Aegon could play together" rasped Lyanna

Ned simply nodded, tears rolling from down his cheeks. "Promise me Ned. Promise me that you will hide my son. He is a Targaryen and Robert will surely kill him if finds out about him. Promise me, Ned" was the last words to ever come out of her mouth.

Ned felt crushed. First his father and brother died at the hands of Mad King than his good sister Arya dies days following due to the complications from her child birth, leaving his nephew Aiden alone and now his sister is also on death bed and moreover, she just revealed the whole war has been fought over a lie that Lyanna has been kidnapped by the Dragon Prince which effectively made young Aegon and Aiden orphans.

Speaking of Aiden, after his mother Arya died, he made his wife Catelyn promise him to take care of young Aiden like her own son. Catelyn hesitated in the beginning to take in Aiden but on Ned's insistence, reluctantly accepted. Last he heard from her, she returned from Riverrun to Winterfell after an incident with her father, Lord Hoster Tully.

Hoster Tully is the Lord of Riverrun and the Lord Paramount of the Trident. It is known he tried to broker a marriage between Brandon Stark, the heir of Winterfell and his eldest daughter Catelyn Tully but failed. After Lyanna's abduction and Brandon's subsequent murder at the hands of the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen, he halted Ned and his forces at the twins and forced him to marry Catelyn in exchange for his support to their rebellion and letting Ned and his forces cross the Twins. Lord Tully had in mind that Ned would discard Brandon's son and take control of North and That way, his blood will be ruling the North. But when Ned declared that he will remain as Regent North only until his brother's son, Aiden Stark comes of age, Hoster tried to talk Ned out of it. But Ned just shouted at him and threatened to leave his daughter at Riverrun if he spoke of this matter again.

Shortly after that, he left for the war, leaving Aiden in the hands of Catelyn. Catelyn initially was reluctant to take in Aiden but that changed after they returned from Riverrun. From what he understood from the ravens he got from his wife, Hoster Tully discreetly tried to push Aiden from the Raven tower. Thankfully, Catelyn was present at the scene and her motherly instincts won over her reservations and got into a fight with her father and left the Riverlands for Winterfell, vowing to never return there until he apologized to Aiden for his heinous deed.

Ned felt his love and respect for Catelyn increase tenfold after hearing of the incident. He recently heard she was pregnant with his baby and he can't wait to meet her. But all that happiness evaporated as soon as he saw the situation of Lyanna.

He took the baby Targaryen in his arms and resolved to protect him at any cost. As he went outside, a plan began to form in his mind to protect the baby Targaryen. He came outside and saw Howland Reed and William Dustin sitting there, the latter of which was heavily injured. The remaining guards who came with him are there lying dead. Ned asked Howland to kill the maids. He initially thought of cutting their tongues and sending them to Winterfell but that would rise to unwanted questions. So he decided against that and instead opted to kill them. He knew it is a dishonorable thing to do, but he decided that family comes first and protecting little Aegon's life is more important to him right now. To destroy any evidence about Aegon's existence, he ordered his men to bury the dead and light the tower in fire, thus destroying the tower and any evidence with it.

They took Arthur's body along with his sword Dawn with them and set their journey to Starfall, where they got Dustin treated and then started for King's Landing

Aiden is a bright child. This was evident right from the start. He started forming baby words when he was six moons old and complete words by the time he came to the age of one name day. When he started walking by the age of two name days, his little legs took him to library in Winterfell.

Maester Luwin was initially surprised by the new visitor to the library. Generally no one other than him, his scribes and occasionally Lord Stark to retrieve some documents and Lady Stark too reminiscent about the history of Westeros, visits the library. So imagine his surprise when a two year old boy carried by his two tiny legs struts into library and asks him in his baby voice to teach him about his family and history.

Maester Luwin is only too happy to comply with his wishes and gets on into explaining about the history of Starks of Winterfell and other great houses of Westeros. Initially he thought that after a few days, the little Lord's interest will fade away. After all, what two year old kid will be interested in History? But he was proven wrong when Aiden started memorizing all the house sigils and important events in history including the downfall of the Ghiscari empire in the hands of Valyrian dragon Lords, Valyrian doom, the invasion of the Westeros by Andals, end of the regime of Winter Kings when Torrhen Stark bent his knee to Aegon The Conqueror.

But the thing that surprised him the most is his interest in Magic, Dragons, tales of the Children of the forest and the Others. No matter how many times Luwin tried to convince him that all those are nothing but Old Nan tales said to children to make them sleep, Aiden simply said all the tales and rumors must contain some form of truth in them.

By the time he reached his fifth name day, Aiden was proficient in reading and writing of both Westerosi and Old tongue and can make small sentences in High Valyrian. Unfortunately his studies had to be put on hold as Aiden had to go to Riverrun along with Lady Catelyn and were supposed to stay there till the time she finishes her labor. But their stay had been cut short when Lady Stark discovered Lord Hoster Tully tried to discreetly push Aiden from stairs of raven tower. After that incident, Catelyn started treating him like her own spawn and had even encouraged him to call her Mother instead of Aunt Catelyn or Lady Stark.

Aiden had been ecstatic on hearing her ask him to call her Mother. Even though it was Catelyn who took care of him since he lost his mother Arya Stark when he was no more than three moons of age, there had always been an invisible line between them. But now, Catelyn herself has erased that line making him the happiest person on the planet.

Yesterday, they received a Raven from Ned Stark that the war has been won and Aiden's uncle from his mother sighed, Robert Baratheon has been crowned as the King of the Seven kingdoms and protector of realm and that he wishes to see his nephew in King's Landing. And what the king wishes, he gets it.

Catelyn is going to stay behind in Winterfell as she cannot travel with her nine moons old child, Robb Stark. Hence, Aiden, along with Brandon's youngest brother Benjen Stark and fifty other Stark guards are currently making their way to King's Landing.

They were a day's ride from King's Landing when they were attacked. It was night time and Aiden and Benjen were sleeping in their tents when the attack started. Being a war veteran, Benjen immediately became alert when he heard the slight commotion outside of his tent. He narrowly missed a small knife thrown toward him by a masked man. Seeing his knife miss his target, the attacker jumped toward Benjen with another small sword in his hands. Benjen immediately felt for his blade he hid beneath his pillow and brought it out just in time to parry off the small sword of the attacker.

After parrying off his assailant, he jumped towards his armor and great sword. He side stepped another sword slash and kicked the attacker at his abdomen, knocking the breath of him and immediately unsheathed his long sword and slashed the attacker's back. As the attacker is wearing nothing but leather armor, his long sword easily tore through them and into his flesh. The attacker gasped in pain. Gritting his teeth in pain he turned around and then started to swing his sword wildly all of which were easily parried or countered by Benjen.

Benjen could see that his attacker is getting tired due to the loss of blood and his moments started slur a bit. He did not have to wait for long for his window of opportunity. Benjen parried a slash aimed for his chest and countered by thrusting his sword in to his opponent's heart killing him instantly. Benjen took a moment to observe the corpse of his opponent. His assailant looked to be a bandit. But bandits never attack the family of a Great House for the fear of their retaliation. He filed away that matter for future investigation.

Benjen took a deep breath and immediately made way for his nephew's tent. Fortunately, he found his nephew to still be alive and armed with a long knife and surrounded by ten Stark soldiers in a protective way. He gathered a nearby soldier and bid him towards the King's Landing and bring them back up from the watchers of the Kings road. In that moment, from the corner of his eye, Benjen saw another group of fifteen bandits making their way toward his nephew. Benjen gathered the remaining Stark soldiers and rallied them to protect his nephew. He rushed toward the bandit group and parried a cross-slanted slash pointed towards him and thrust his sword toward him, making a giant gash in his stomach.

"Show them no mercy. Show these cunts what happens when they attack the Northerners when their back is turned. Send them all to the Old gods" Benjen called out to the remaining Northmen. The Northern soldiers cheered and rushed in to the battle with only two soldiers remaining at Aiden's side to protect him from any stray attacks. The next ten minutes could be called nothing but a blood-bath as the undisciplined bandits stood no chance against the war hardened and veteran soldiers from the North.

Benjen entered into a duel with a large man with who had a giant axe with him. He traded attack with the bandit blow for blow, deflecting slashes with his own long sword and then striking back with fierce and quick strikes of his own. Ten minutes in to the fight and most of the bandits were dead or captured and Benjen delivered his final strike straight through his opponent's throat, killing him instantly.

He took a few deep breaths to parry away his exhaustion and took a look over his nephew who is looking at the battlefield with a pale face and wide eyes. He could not blame the kid. After all, he is just a five name days old green child who had the unfortunate fate of witnessing a killing, no, a bloody battle his tender age. If Benjen was being honest with himself, he doubted he would have managed any better if he was of Aiden's age.

He went over to Aiden and clasped his hand firmly on his shoulder and shook his out of his stupor. "Doing alright there, kid?" Benjen asked. Aiden looked at his uncle and just nodded his head, saying nothing. But Ben knew better than that and kneeled in front of his nephew to talk to him. As he leaned forward to give Aiden a hug, from the corner of his eye, he saw a sword slash coming for his nephew from his side and immediately clasped both of his arms over Aiden's shoulder protectively and spun him around to protect him from the attack, taking the sword slash in the side of his shoulder blade in the process. His leg slipped on his spin and his head hit a stone on the ground and he blacked out immediately.

The last thing he heard before he blacked out were Aiden's shouting out his name and hoofs of several horses coming towards them.

* * *

 **A/N :** **There you have it. Now you all know who Harry is reborn as. Yes, he is an OC. Son of Brandon Stark and Arya Baratheon (Also OC). Now I have a question for you. Do you want Daphne to be an OC like Harry or as a reincarnation into a cannon character? I put up a poll about that. It will be up by the time this chapter is updated. So please vote.**

 **Also please read and review. Your responses are what encourage me to continue writing my stories. Thank you.**


	3. First Step

**The King who Conquered**

 **F/N:** **Hey there readers. Here is another update. Also for those of you who did not agree with Harry/Aiden not having his past life memories, I would like to point out that this story is still in its infancy and only two chapter have been published till now not including this one. If you are looking for a story where Harry will just appear with his powers and wave his wand around and presto, North becomes the most powerful kingdom in the world, then this story is not for you.**

 **I will be taking a more realistic approach for this story and it will be at least another 15 years before Harry/Aiden will have his first confrontation with the White walkers and another 5 years before the final battle. In in this 20 years, Aiden will slowly make North to be a power to be reckoned with and slowly establish his power bases all across the Planetos.**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for his excellent work of editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: First Step**

Harry blinked open his eyes and squinted a few times to clear the cobwebs in his vision. The last thing he remembered is his uncle taking the sword slash aimed for him and losing his consciousness. The watchers of the King's road came too late as by as, all the bandits were either killed or escaped. They captured the one who attacked him. Aiden ordered all the men to rest for one hour and then gather their supplies and started for King's Landing in the middle of night as he no longer felt safe out here on the road. He made sure his uncle is safe and comfortable in one of the food wagons they brought with them and stayed with him for the rest of the journey.

He looked around the room. It is a rock walled room and is lacking any colors. His clothes and other effects were in one corner of the room. 'Must have fallen asleep during the ride and one of the soldiers must have carried me to this room' he thought. He tried to get out of the bed and was surprised to see cotton wrapped around a wound on his left bicep. Now that he thought about it, he remembered getting a minor scrap from one of the bandits and he forgot about it in the heat of the moment. After surveying the room for a few more moments, something clicked in Aiden's mind and he immediately scrunched his nose in disgust and only one thought permeated his mind. 'What is that god awful stench?' He read about the smell of the stagnated city of King's Landing but reading and experiencing them are two completely different things.

"My lord, his grace, King Robert Baratheon wishes to see you in his solar once you are awake. Your uncle, Lord Stark is also with him" said a servant boy from the door.

Aiden looked at the servant and nodded. "Give me five minutes to make me look presentable and then you can take me to them"

Aiden finished freshening up and the servant boy led him to King's solar. As he approached the steps, he could clearly hear his uncle Benjen's voice. 'Looks like he recovered from the wound' Aiden thought. "I doubt this is a random attack and they are simple bandits, Ned. First they attacked the heir to a Great house without the fear of retaliation. Everyone knows the recent war has devastated the North more than any other realm and as much as I loath to admit it, despite North's size; we would have been hard pressed to match a king's ransom if they have succeeded in kidnapping Aiden. Then, the only one we captured from the bandit raid dies mysteriously before he can be investigated"

"What! Are you saying that someone is trying to kill my nephew? If they come after my sister's son, then I will show them the taste of my war hammer. Slynt, come here. I have a task for you" boomed another voice. A balding man, probably in his late forties stepped forward and bowed. "You Grace?"

"I want to you to take fifty mounted knights and scourge the surrounding areas of King's road where the bandits attacked my nephew. Take more if you want but I want those bandits either captured or killed, do you understand me?" Robert barked out, his face becoming red with anger.

"As you wish, your Grace" The man stepped back without turning his back and left the room along with a few city guards.

'That must be King Robert Baratheon, my uncle from my mother's side' thought Aiden from what he could understand.

But his thoughts were interrupted by his uncle Ned calling out to him. "Aiden! Thank the old gods you are alright. We've been worried about you"

Robert looked at the new arrival. "So, you are my nephew eh? You look just like your father. But you have your. . ."

"I have my mother's eyes. Yes, I know" Aiden said without thinking and then he remembered who he is talking to. "I'm sorry your grace. I did not think. . ."

"Now, none of that formal noble stuff. You are my sister's son, my only nephew. That makes us family and I won't have a member of my family grovelling before me like all those other lords" roared Robert.

"If you say so your gra. . Err. . Uncle" said Aiden timidly

"Good" Robert said and then turned to Benjen and Ned and said "I agree with what Benjen said. The North has suffered greatly during the last war and before that. So, as a reward for the North's assistance in this war, I, King Robert Baratheon, first of his name, King of Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, hereby award 5 million golden dragons to Eddard Stark, Lord regent of the North, to use it for the development of his kingdom as he sees fit"

Everyone in the room looked surprised. Aiden took that moment to look around the room. He recognized few occupants of the room from the descriptions he read about the current lords and their family from Maester Luwin. Tywin Lannister had a stony expression, his face not betraying any emotion. Beside him stood a beautiful lady with golden hair and green eyes, typical trait of a Lannister, with a barely concealed frown marring her face. Beside his uncle stood Jon Arryn of Vale, newly appointed hand of the king, Ser Barristan Selmy, a famous knight, considered one of the best swordsmen in the entire Westeros, Ser Jamie Lannister, first born son of Tywin Lannister and heir to Casterly rock but lost that status when he took up Kings guard. He recently acquired the nick name 'King's Slayer' after he plunged a sword through Mad king's back.

Ned and Jon tried to convince Robert but to no avail. Ned knew how difficult it would be to change Robert's mind once he fixed on something. So, he reluctantly accepted the golden dragons. After discussing a few other matters, they left for their respective rooms. Next day Aiden and his Stark brethren bid their leave to his uncle Robert, promising to return to King's Landing to swear to him when he reached 17 to take up the title of Lord Paramount of North.

The group of Northerner's are eager to leave the King's Landing, each for different reasons. Ned wanted to leave because he wanted his sister's son, Aegon Targaryen, now known as 'Jon Snow' to be as far away from King's Landing and Robert as possible. Also, he couldn't wait to meet his new born son. Benjen wanted to get away from the place where his father and brother were burned alive. He initially thought of leaving for the Wall but Ned and Aiden managed to convince him to stay at least for a few years. Aiden wanted to get away because the Royal palace gave him strange vibes. Also, he is determined to strengthen the position of North among other kingdoms and he can't do that sitting here. The rest of the northerner's wanted to get away from the city to escape from its horrible stench as soon as possible and visit their families.

"Aiden! Aiden! By the old gods! What has gotten into you nephew? I've been calling your name for like five Minutes!" called out Eddard Stark from his horse. Ever since their entourage left the King's Landing, Aiden had been eerily quiet and this troubled the regent North greatly.

"Nothing uncle. I was just thinking" Aiden replied.

"Thinking? I hope it didn't hurt your head, little nephew" said Benjen with a boisterous laugh making the soldiers in their immediate vicinity snicker at his nephew.

"Benjen" said Ned in a slow warning tone and Aiden maturely stuck out his tongue at his youngest uncle. Ever since Aiden and Ned, mostly Aiden managed to convince Benjen not to take the Night's Watch; they became closer .

"So, what were you thinking about Aiden? Ever since we left King's Landing, you have been quiet"

"Nothing uncle. Just thinking about things in general. What are you going to do with the 5 million dragons Uncle Robert gave us?" asked Aiden in a curious tone.

Ned cocked an eyebrow at the question and simply shrugged. "Well, to be honest, I haven't given it much of a thought. Probably I will share it with the rest of our banner men and if any more is left than give it to the families who lost their members due to this war. Why?"

"Well, a good way to spend the gold" Aiden trailed off

Ned looked at his nephew with keen eyes. "But you don't approve of it" declared the regent North.

Aiden looked a little abashed by the blunt statement. "It's not that I disapprove of your plan, uncle. It's just that I have thought of a plan which will help the North in the long run. It's still a rough plan at this point but once we discuss it, then maybe we could make some use of it" Aiden said apprehensively. After all, he did not want his uncle to think he is showing up on him.

Ned mulled over it for a few moments. "Well, I've never been good at these long term plans and you say your plan might help the North" Aiden nodded, still unsure of what his uncle is getting at.

" Well then, since it helps the North, we might as well listen to it. We are three days ride from the Moat Cailin. Once we get settled there, we will discuss your plan" and with that his uncle rode to the front of their entourage leaving Aiden to his thoughts.

The next three days passed in the blink of an eye for Aiden. Most of the time he took care of his Uncle Ned's little bastard baby Jon Snow or he continued improving his plans for the North. Presently we find Aiden along with both of his uncles, Wyman Manderly, lord of White Harbor and Ser Jory Cassel, captain of guard, at a solar in Moat Cailin.

"So little nephew, ready to present your little plan?" asked Benjen, trying to lighten the mood

"Yes Lord Stark. I'm also most interested in learning about your plans for the North". His uncle Ned sent a raven to Lord Manderly to visit them at Moat Cailin within three days, the night Aiden first proposed his plans for North. "After all, it is going to be yours in the future and I'm most curious to learn of my future liege lord's plans for his kingdom" said Lord Manderly of White Harbor. Ned remained silent the entire time he sat there but gave his nephew an encouraging smile when he looked at him.

So Aiden started "Well, let me start by saying my thanks to all of you for agreeing to listen to a five name days old boy"

Wyman and Jory gave a respectful bow while Benjen chuckled and Ned gave a nod in acceptance. "From what I could learn from the library at Winterfell and from what I observed from my limited amount of travels to River Lands and King's Landing, I understood the way North runs things must change to keep up with the Kingdoms of South" All the present members agreed with Aiden. So he continued, "And my uncle, King Robert gave us the perfect opportunity for this. The five million dragons he gave us can be used to kick start the progress of the North. First, we need to secure North from others. For that the castle of Moat Cailin needs to be repaired and manned. From what I understand and the observations I made, twelve of the twenty towers of Moat will need full reconstruction and partial restoration will suffice for the remaining towers. For that we are going to need upward of two million dragons. Next is the Northern fleet" Aiden grimaced at this. "I don't know what possessed my ancestor to burn the entire Northern fleet. But we will try to rectify this mistake. As I understand it, the Northern fleet contained around eighty war galleys, seventy long ships and some hundred and fifty cogs and Knars. So over the next five years, we will rebuild the Northern fleet to the same strength as before. I estimate the cost to be around two and half million dragons for that. We will use a million and a quarter dragon from the remaining three million dragons uncle Robert gave us. The rest of the cost will be shared between Starks of Winterfell and Manderlys of White Harbor. And we will keep aside half-a-million dragons for the families of the soldiers who lost their lives during the war" Aiden took a pause to take a look around. All the people present were nodding their approvals. He looked at his uncle Ned only to find his eyes brimming with pride.

"That's about three and three quarter million dragons. What about the rest of the money, Lord Aiden" asked Wyman.

Aiden took a long breath to explain his next part of the plan. "For this part of the plan, I ask you all to keep an open mind and let me explain everything before you ask your questions" Everyone looked intrigued by his sudden request but complied nonetheless.

"If we finish the aforementioned projects, then North will come to the state it is before the war. But for the North to truly rise as a power, we need to stop depending on others for our requirements. Despite being the largest of the Seven kingdoms, we depend almost entirely upon the southern kingdoms for our needs ranging from foods to clothes and from daily wares to body armors. We need to change " Aiden said, looking into the eyes of everyone present at the discussion.

"So what do you propose, Aiden?" It was Benjen who asked the question. Initially he had been skeptical about this discussion. He thought that his nephew wanted to play Lord of North for some time and that after the end of discussion he could use it as a blackmail material to embarrass him for the near future. But as he listened more to his nephew, the more interested he became in his schemes.

"We need to connect Saltspear and 'The Bite' by constructing a canal from 'Fever' river to 'White Harbor'" he said and sat silent, listening to what an impudent, half-witted, thoughtless idea it is. Chaos continued for another five minutes when Ned banged his fist on the table.

"You do know what you just said sounds stupid and impossible don't you" spoke Eddard Stark for the first time after the discussion has started.

Aiden remained unfazed throughout the chaos and his uncle's statement. "Stupid? Probably. Impossible? No. Now before you go all wolf-blooded on me, let me explain. The distance between Saltspear and the Bite is approximately three hundred miles. But the 'Fever' runs about 100 miles inland, so that gives us two hundred miles of hundred feet wide and thirty feet deep canal to dig. If my calculations are correct, if forty thousand workers digging the canal for twelve hours a day, completing half-a-mile a day, then it would take us around two-and-half years to complete it. But adding in other unexpected factors, we will add another year. So, if we start the canal soon, by the end of four years, we will have a full-fledged canal system connecting 'The Bite' and 'Saltspear'"

The audience still remained skeptical at the proposition and frankly Aiden cannot blame them. He himself still had several doubts about the canal project. If finished, this will be the largest man-made construction after the Wall. So Aiden continued "Think about it, my lords. At present, trade ships from Bravos and other free cities have to travel all the way to the port of Sunsphere to cross Westeros. If we successfully completed this project, then they can simply cut their travel time by half by passing through our canal. After this, our trade with Essos will triple, maybe quadruples even"

"And we won't have to depend on other kingdoms for our necessities. Plus, we can place a toll on the ships for using our canal. It will be an additional income for us and we can build new ports along the coast of Salt Sphere and small fishing villages along the canal" finished Lord Manderly, his mind already running with full of possibilities about what type of income and trade the New Lord Stark's idea will gain them.

"You seem to have given this a major thought Aiden. But where are we going to find forty thousand workers? We certainly cannot find them in North and importing working from free cities will drastically increase the project cost. And most importantly, how do you propose we finance this huge project. I doubt the remaining dragons from Robert will suffice for this" said Ned. He still had his reservations. But listening to Aiden deconstructing the process and pointing out the advantages of completing such a venture made him think the project may be viable after all. He could already see the look of greed on Wyman's face at the prospect of making more money from this project.

"I've thought about it too, uncle. And I have a possible solution for it"

"Of course you do" muttered Benjen.

Aiden simply smirked at his uncle and continued "I've seen so many beggars and homeless people at King's Landing and Riverrun. You can write letters to Uncle Robert and Lord Tully to send them to North. I would have suggested on sending ravens to all the kingdoms but decided against it. If we have a sudden influx of people more than we can handle, then administration and categorizing of these people will become difficult which in turn will slow-down our project"

"Well thought, my Lord. But how do we finance this mega project of yours?" asked the lord of White Harbor.

"I was just coming to that Lord Manderly. To finish this project, I propose we take a loan from Iron Bank"

Aiden thought that like earlier, he would have to suffer criticism again for his idea but to his surprise, everyone remained silent at this. Ned and Benjen had a calculative look on their faces. Ser Jory Cassel still looked a bit skeptical at this entire idea but stayed silent. It was Lord Manderly who broke the silence. "I think your idea has merit, Lord Stark. Since this project will help boost the Braavosi trade and decrease their ships travel time, I think they will be more receptive to this idea"

After another hour of discussing the intricacies of their mega canal project in depth, they decided to call the canal as 'Wolf's mouth' in honor of the Starks who proposed the project and ruled over these lands.

It has been five moons since they talked of the canal project. Three moons back they got their loan approved for the construction of 'Wolf's mouth'. The managers of Iron Bank seemed to be eager when they heard of the proposed project and were only too happy to provide them with the required loan. The Sea Lord of Braavos was so ecstatic on listening about the project that he proposed a deal to the Northern entourage to waive the toll fee for North ships at their port for the next ten years if they managed to open the canal within the next four year and agreed to give North's merchants first priority for trading at their port and vice-versa.

The construction of Moat Cailin and Northern fleet is also getting along well. They saw their first influx of workers (former beggars and homeless people) two moons after Ned sent ravens to Riverrun and King's Landing. The new comers initially seemed to be not interested in working but that changed after Aiden, with the approval of Eddard Stark passed a law forbidding any beggars to stay in any city in North. They either had to work to earn their living or leave the North. Initially there were protests from the most of the small folk and surprisingly from the Minor Lords but Aiden put his foot down to any protests and did not budge even an inch on the matter.

When his Aunt Catelyn asked his to reconsider this law as it is against the faith of seven to force people to do work Aiden simply said "North is a harsh and wild place, Aunt Catelyn. And if the Lord of Winterfell went back on his word after some protests from the small folk, most of whom I might add is not even from the North to begin with, they will quickly lose their respect for us and starts disregarding any laws we might implement in the future. We are not trying to oppress them Aunty. They have plenty of work to find either at Winter Town, White Harbor or Moat Cailin. If they do not want to work to earn their living, then they have no place in North"

Even after that, there were some protests here and there but all that stopped one day after the incident with Aiden in Godswood.

Ever since he could think and interact with his surroundings, Aiden always felt a pull towards the Godswood in their Castle but Septa Mordane scared him with stories of how people will sacrifice kids in Godswood and how the faces on the weir wood trees will swallow any children who will wander into Godswood and come near them alone. Of course it did not take him long to realize she is spouting nothing but lies. But by then, Aiden had lost interest in them and instead focused on his studies. But the pull always remained there, in the back of his head. But after returning to Winterfell from King's Landing, the pull of the Godswood returned with full force, making him not able to concentrate in these studies and training. So he decided to venture into Godswood to clear this matter once and for all. But to be on safe side, he waited for the festival dedicated to Old Gods to come so that he will be surrounded by people if anything will happen to him. On the day of the festival, the small folk ventured into the Godswood and offered the weir wood trees things ranging from simple food, clothes, and a few copper pennies to animal sacrifices.

Aiden along with his uncle Eddard, his aunt Catelyn, their new born son Robb Stark, Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow and his younger uncle Benjen Stark ventured into Godswood to offer their prayers. As Aiden went deeper into the Godswood, the more powerful the pull became. After offering their prayers Aiden said he wanted to explore the woods further and left them. He wandered the woods for some time when his pull took him to a grove. Aiden stopped in front of the tree, perhaps the largest he had ever seen with a face etched into it. The tree has eyes that seemed to be looking into the soul of the person standing in front of it and leaves that looked like hands which are ready to catch if someone offended the tree in any way.

"This is the called the heart tree. It is said no one can lie in front of a heart tree, for the Old gods will know if you do and will punish you for it" came a voice from behind him.

Aiden let out a started yelp from the sudden sound and turned to come face to face with an old man. The man has a fringe of gray hair around his balding, mottled scalp. He has a wizened face and a slightly hunched back. He looked to be so frail it is a miracle that he could walk. But despite all these, his eyes were the one that caught Aiden's attention. The old man has emerald green eyes with a deep look which seemed to be filled with years' worth of experience in them. Even with him standing in front of Aiden, his eyes always seem constantly on a look out for any danger.

"Who are you?" Aiden finally managed to ask

"Oh, no one important. They have been waiting for you. 'HE' had been waiting for you for a long time" answered the mysterious old man.

Aiden furrowed his brows on hearing the old man. "Who is waiting for me? And why would they or 'HE' wait for me here? They could have come to meet me anytime in the castle"

The old man smiled at Aiden and said "Oh trust me. If they could have, they would have met you before. But even they had to follow certain rules. Even now, you cannot meet all of them, for you are not ready to meet them. So you will meet only one of them. Touch the heart tree and you will see him"

Aiden seemed irritated by the responses he's been getting. First he feels a pull towards this tree. When he comes to it, a mysterious old man appears out of nowhere and spurs out some nonsense. Oh he answered Aiden's questions but with each answer he got, several more questions formed in his mind.

"Is this some type of joke, old man? Because if it is, then I will make sure you spend the rest of your life at the wall"

The old man gave another one of those mysterious smiles and simply said "If you will. But first, you need to touch the tree to know whether I'm joking or not"

Aiden internally debated on whether he should do as the old man asked him to do or not. On one hand, he did not see any harm in just touching the tree but, this entire situation is giving him creeps. But in the end, his curiosity won out and Aiden held out a hand and touched the face on the heart tree. As soon as his hand touched the tree, a bright golden light shot out from the tree and Aiden knew no more.

Aiden opened his eyes and looked around him. Everything seemed to be painted in pure white. The place he currently in is easily as big as the throne room in Red Keep. He looked to be on some type of platform. He is fairly certain that he hasn't been here in this place before but felt like he knew where and what this place is but cannot put his finger on it.

"Aiden Stark. Good to finally meet you" came a serene voice from his behind.

This time Aiden had been ready for it and didn't jump on hearing the voice. He had been expecting for something like this to happen. So Aiden slowly turned around to meet the owner of the voice and felt his eyes widen on seeing the person.

The person in front of him had the same emerald green eyes that the old man had with same amount of vigilance and immense wisdom lurking just behind those beautiful eyes. "Are the old man's son or something?" blurted out Aiden

The man in front of him gave out an amused chuckle. "No Aiden. I'm not his son"

"My mistake. I thought that since you both seemed to share same eyes, you both must be related"

"Do not worry, Aiden. You are not that wrong in your conclusion. I'm not his son because. . . I am him. My name is or rather it used to be **Harry Potter** "

 **Outside the Mindscape:**

Ned had been worried about his nephew. For the last two moons, he had been rather distracted by something. Oh he tried to cover it but Ned is far too experienced not to notice something is wrong with his nephew. So when Aiden told him he wished to explore the woods further, Ned agreed immediately despite Catelyn's protests. Ned aloud because he himself always felt at peace when he is among the trees in Godswood and thought it might help clear his nephew's mind.

It had been almost half an hour since Aiden parted from the rest of the Starks. So on Catelyn's urging, Ned reluctantly agreed to search for Aiden. He sent some guards towards the western and eastern side of the woods and he himself went for the tree grove having the heart tree. Reaching the grove, he looked for Aiden and immediately found him talking to someone. He moved past the shrub to get a clear view of his nephew. He could hear his nephew saying 'Is this some type of joke, old man? Because if it is, then I will make sure you spend the rest of your life at the wall'.

Now Ned is truly worried as he cannot see anyone around his nephew. Aiden seemed to be mulling over something and finally nodded to himself and touched the face on the heart tree. As soon as Aiden touched the tree, a bright golden light shot forth from them and filled the area.

 **Inside the mindscape:**

"So, let me get this straight. You and I is the same person. You are my older self. Me, from my previous life from other world, here to guide me and unlock mine. . .err. . . Your. . . Powers. Gods, this is so confusing. I know that I should not believe you and should be freaking out but I'm not. Does this have something to do with you" asked a frustrated Aiden

Aiden's older self looked amused on seeing Aiden's condition. " True for the most part. You see Aiden, you and I are not a separate being. We are one and the same. After we died in your previous life, death gave us a choice and we choose to be born again in this world but without the memories of our older self. We did this because we wanted to enjoy life in this new world before the responsibilities are shoved on us. And now the time has come for us to become one again"

Aiden stared dumbly at his supposed alternate self. He always knew something is not normal with him. That he is missing something about his being but he never suspected anything on this level. His logical mind is suggesting that this might all be a dream but his gut is screaming at him to accept this as reality and get on with it.

"So. . . " Aiden drawled out slowly "What should I do now to become myself fully?"

"Nothing, Aiden. Just close your eyes and clear your mind. I will do the rest. And do not fight it. It will be easier if you will just get along with the flow"

Aiden nodded and closed his eyes to clear his mind. He felt a hand touch his forehead and suddenly a dam burst open deep inside his mind, flooding his brain with information. Information on magic, politics, battle strategies, mathematics, science and several experiences.

Aiden's mind is reeling from the sudden influx of information and it took him a few moments to regain his bearings. He shook his head a few times to dispel the cobwebs still in his eyes. He felt someone catch his shoulders firmly to make him steady.

"How are you feeling, Aiden?"

"Like I've been hit with a truck" replied Aiden before his eyes scrunched up in confusion "How do I know what a truck is?"

His alternate-self made to say something but Aiden finished him off by saying "Right. My memories from my other life. This is going to be interesting for sure"

"It will be. But I'm afraid our time together is coming short. This is going to be last time you will see me as a separate entity. So if you still have any more questions, you should ask me now"

Aiden surely had so many questions. I mean, he did just get a lifetime worth of memories so who wouldn't. But he needed to prioritize his questions. So Aiden asked the first question he thought to be useful. "I've noticed some of the memories I received are not full, like they've been truncated. Why?"

"I was hoping you would ask yourself. It did certainly make my job a lot simpler. You see Aiden, when you choose a new life in this world, you specifically requested to seal off some memories to alleviate some pain caused to you in your previous life. But worry not. The blocks on your memories will be fully lifted once certain circumstances are met"

Aiden looked dubious at the reply he got but accepted it anyway and made to ask what those circumstances were before he was cut off by his older self saying "And no, I cannot say what those circumstances are. They have to happen naturally and that cannot happen once you know of those circumstances"

Aiden looked a bit sullen on hearing that so moved on to another topic. "So, do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed?"

Aiden's older self thought for a bit before saying "The only thing I could advise you is that learn from the mistakes we made in our previous life. Family is the most important thing in the entire world. So protect your family at any cost. Also, knows that with power comes responsibility and that with leadership comes the burdens you have to bear as being the leader. While I ask you not to shy away from your responsibilities, you also need to learn to live your life to the fullest. You are still young so travel the world and know more about this world, about its inhabitants, about their cultures as well as their problems and the best ways to help them instead of just jumping head first into thing like we did in the early days of our previous life. And last but most important one, whatever position you may end up in your life, do not forget who you are and your responsibility to the ones who followed you"

Aiden nodded seriously at his older self's suggestion. He would never abandon his family or his comrades. That much he has always been sure of. And he also dreamed of traveling the world. So he found nothing to argue against the suggestion.

"Our time together has come to an end, Aiden Stark formerly known as Harry Potter. May your journey be void of any regrets that we had in our previous life" and with that he vanished in a bright golden light.

Aiden put his arms across his face to cover his eyes from the sudden bright light. Then he felt someone shaking him vigorously and opened his eyes to see he is in the weirwood forest in front of the heart tree. He looked around to find his uncles Benjen and Ned and his Aunt Catelyn looking at him with a worried expression on his face. He looked beyond them to see many of the small folk gathered there and looking at him with an expression of awe and wonder etched on their faces.

Aiden once again turned to his uncle and asked "What happened?"

"You were touched by the old gods, My Lord. You were chosen by them" yelled someone from the small folk gathered around them and soon every one bent on their knees and the entire grove filled with shouts of **'Long live Lord Stark'** and **'All hail Aiden Stark'**

Aiden only had one reply come of his mouth for the sudden display, "Huh. . ?" and he promptly blacked out.

* * *

 **A/N:** **There it is readers. My next chapter. How do you like it? Please read and review. Thank you.**


	4. New Discoveries

**The King Who Conquered**

 **NOTE:** **This is a revamped version of old Chapter 4. Since I got so many requests to add details on what changes Aiden brought to the North during the 5 year time skip in previous version, I took down the old chapter and brought this on up.**

 **I do not own neither Game of Thrones or Harry Potter series.**

 **Also, I'm looking for a name to the North. I thought of Northern realms but it already used by other ff users so I would like to have something unique and interchangable with its present name. Please leave your answer in reviews or PMs**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for his excellent work of editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 : New Discoveries**

 **Winterfell (286 AC):**

It has been a year since the incident at the weirwood trees and everywhere Aiden went, people gave wide-breath and some of the more fanatic worshipers of the old gods went on their knees and elbows he if ever came across them. For the first two days, Aiden's mind is nothing more than a mess. Though, by the end of those two days, Aiden gained every single memory of his previous life and the knowledge that came with it. During that time his mind has been a complete haywire, so much so he could not even lift a glass of water to his mouth. His family had been worried sick, especially his aunt Catelyn, who refused to leave his side even for a single second. Aiden had been elated to learn of this. Sure, he lived a rather long life in his previous life and had a large family but he never experienced a Mother's love and Catelyn's affection is the closest thing he felt to having a mother and he is glad for that.

At the present, Aiden could be found wandering the empty halls of Winterfell. The reason for this is that ever since he gained the knowledge of his previous self, he became more sensitive to magic which permeated in this world. At first it felt weird at the feel of this different magic. But Aiden trained hard to control his magic so the wild and untamed magic flowing around him could not disturb him. As his mind became clear of the ambient magic around him, he could feel some kind flow of magic in some of the doors and walls in the castle of Winterfell.

Aiden has been investigating these walls and door and found that they have runes carved into them; some of them are blood wards while others are intent based ones. When Aiden thought about them, it made sense, seeing as Bran the builder, who raised the ice wall which separated them from wildlings using magic, is the progenitor of the Starks of Winterfell. So, some wards are to be expected, although, most of them are very weak and would have fallen in a year or two if Aiden did not find them. Aiden kept them running for the moment by feeding them his own magic, but he cannot do that forever. So he is trying to find the runic schema documents in the library in Winterfell but so far, he is met with disappointment in all his endeavors.

Aiden could be found walking towards their family crypts as he felt a flow of magic in that direction. He is curious as to what kind of wards are present in Stark's family crypt. As he entered the crypt, he could sense the ominous feeling surrounding the crypt. Aiden ignored that feeling and kept moving forward and reached other the end of the crypt and stood in front of a wall. The wall is adorned with the stone head of a ferocious looking dire wolf. He could feel the magic emanating from the head, some kind a mix between intent based ward and blood ward.

As he stared into the eyes of the dire wolf, he could feel the pressure mounting on his shoulders triggering his fight or flight instincts. His Aiden childhood side wanted to leave this place and hide his face in his Aunt Catelyn's lap while his newly discovered, more experienced and wiser side wanted to sort this out. After a battle of wills, his experienced side won the war and Aiden bought a blade from his sleeve and made a small gash in his palm and sprayed his blood in the wolf's open jaws. The eyes of the wolf glowed red for a second then wall behind the wolf head rumbled and moved aside to give way to a dark room beyond the formed door inside the crypt.

The movement Aiden entered the hidden room, torches hanged on the wall lit up, illuminating the entire room and what he saw blew Aiden's mind. Inside the room were several gold colored crates which are closed and several tomes and scrolls were arranged in the shelves behind them. But what truly got his attention is the white colored structure at the far end of the room. As he got closer, he noticed that the structure is styled to look like a rather large dire wolf resting with its fore legs crossed and the head the turned towards him in a menacing way. The mid-section of the wolf is carved to look like a seat of sorts with two handles whose ends have two wolves embedded in them. He instantly knew what he is looking at; the lost throne of his ancestors, 'The Winter Throne'.

If Eddard Stark, the current regent of the North had any doubts that his nephew is not normal, they were shattered after the incident at the weirwood trees. Today, after he finished breaking his fast, he was approached by Aiden and was asked to meet in their family crypts in ten minutes. He was also told not to bring any guards with him.

If anyone other than Aiden had asked him, Ned would have been very skeptical. After the incident at the weirwood forest, Ned has become wary of his nephew. After regaining his senses, Aiden was questioned by Maester Luwin as to what happened at the heart tree. He simply said that as soon as he touched the heart tree, he felt a weird feeling coming over him and after that he blacked out. Everyone seemed to accept his answer but Ned saw right through his nephew and could see that he is lying. Aiden sensed that his uncle is distancing from him and confronted him about it.

 **Flash back**

"You've been avoiding me, uncle" came a voice behind Ned

Ned turned around to find his six nearly seven name days old nephew looking at him.

"And you've been lying to me, Aiden"

Aiden let out a long helpless sigh. "It was never my intention to lie to you uncle. Or anyone else for that matter"

"So you do not deny lying to everyone". Aiden said nothing but the silence from his nephew told him the answer. "So, are you going to tell me what really happened on that day in the Godswood?"

Aiden looked around and then suddenly grabbed Ned hand. "Not here, uncle. Follow me" and took him to the weirwood forest and stopped in front of the same heart tree in front of which the incident happened.

"What are we doing here, Aiden" asked Ned, looking around.

Aiden looked around his surroundings a few times to make sure they are safe and that no one is eavesdropping on them he turned to his uncle and said "What I'm about to say should stay between us, uncle"

Ned would have said something against it but seeing the serious look on his nephew's face, he simply nodded. Taking a deep breath, Aiden then continued to tell him what happened that day, of course omitting some facts like he is a reincarnation of a wizard named Harry Potter from another world and of his knowledge from his previous life and his meetings with Death but he did touch lightly about his magical abilities.

"So. . ." Ned began after listening to his nephew about what really happened at heart tree "you met an old man and he unlocked some of your abilities which you are still learning about. And he said something about an ancient evil stirring from its slumber and that you need to help prepare the North to face that evil. Is that all or did I miss something?"

Aiden thought for a moment and said "That's about it uncle. Although, the old man did say that we still have some time before the evil powers finally makes their appearance. I reckon we have two decades, three at most to prepare"

After hearing the information his nephew dumped on him, Ned's legs gave way and he slumped down against the heart tree. Aiden sat beside his uncle on his knees and slowly took his uncle's hand into his and said "Do not worry uncle. I'll make sure that our family will be safe, no matter what. Together we will come out of this battle victorious"

Ned patted his nephew on his shoulder and with a smile he said "I have every confidence that you will make sure that our family is safe and we will emerge victorious from this endeavor, Aiden. Still, it a bit too much to take"

 **Flashback End**

Like Aiden asked, Ned met him in their family crypts thought he could feel something different about the crypt. He saw his nephew and his brother Benjen waiting for him by the stone wolf head at the other end of the crypt. After Aiden confided in with Ned, they decided to bring Benjen into the foray and Aiden told him everything he told Ned.

"Good you came, uncle. Now we can begin" said Aiden.

"I think you are starting to like these spooky meetings of ours a little too much little nephew" said Benjen from his side.

Aiden simply smirked and took out a dagger from his sleeve and made a shallow gash on his hand. "Aiden! What are you. . ." The voice died down in his throat as he saw the eyes of the wolf head glow red and then the wall move aside to give way to a dark room inside. Aiden said nothing but simply moved inside the room. Both his uncles followed suit and were astounded as they took in the contents of the room. Ned in particular became a bit emotional as he laid his eyes on the white structure in the far end of the room.

"Is that. . . Is that. . ."

Aiden promptly sat on the white dire wolf like throne. "Aye, uncle. This is the long lost Throne of our ancestors, the Winter Kings. 'The Winter Throne'"

Benjen and Ned stood with their mouths gaping at the long thought lost Winter Throne of their ancestors. The throne is said to be lost some three thousand years ago during war between the then Winter Kings and Red Kings. Every Northerner worth their salt knows about the legends of Winter Throne, which is known to only accept worthy persons to sit on it. And their nephew sitting on the throne means that he is meant to rule the North beyond doubt and will curry the favor of other Northern Lords.

Aiden smiled on seeing the proud look on both his uncles' faces. "The boxes beside me contain gold and silver coins. Exactly how much, I know not, but guessing by their sizes I reckon it would be around three to four million in gold and another million in silver" said Aiden enjoying increased surprised looks on his uncles' faces. Aiden let his uncles recover from the sudden ordeal before saying "And I have one more surprise for you"

"After those two discoveries, I doubt anything can surprise us any further" Benjen said, recovering from their initial shock.

Aiden gave the same smirk he does before doing something mischievous. "Wanna bet on it uncle?" He walked to one of the wooden trunks and retrieved a small box with the Stark insignia, a dire wolf on it and handed it to his uncle Ned who opened it only to find a key and some kind of documents."

Ned's eyes widened on recognizing what the documents pertains to and he immediately whirled toward his cousin with shock apparent on his face. "Where did you get this?" If what is said in these documents is true then it might very well change the face of the North. "I found it in one of the boxes. It seems our ancestors made a good investment and then forgot about it"

"Good investment? GOOD INVESTMENT?" Ned bellowed in an equal mix of anger at his ancestors for forgetting such an important thing and exasperation at his nephew for saying it a simple good investment. "Investing in a small business is good investment. Investing in the improvement of Winter Town is good investment. But this?" Ned waved the documents in Aiden's face. "This, I don't even know what to call this"

"Will someone tell me what the excitement is all about?" Benjen shouted, getting infuriated by being kept out of loop. Ned took some small breaths to control his raging emotions and finally said "Our ancestor Brandon the shipwright, before he set sail for the sunset sea and disappear forever made an investment in iron bank"

"Not just an investment, uncle. He gave the governors of Iron Bank eight hundred thousand golden moons and the protection of the Winter Kings against the threat of the free cities. As a compensation for the North's help; they made him as a governor of Iron Bank and gave him a vault in the name of the Stark family which would contain two per cent of the profit the Iron Bank makes"

"And… the seat is hereditary" Aiden finished with his never ending smirk fully on display.

Benjen opened and closed his mouth several times trying to say something but could say nothing coherent. Then his face turned into one of anger. "Those Iron Bank Shit! They knew of our suffering during every winter. They know that they owe us but still do not help us. Raise the banners, Aiden. We will show those Iron Bank scum what happens when they mess with the Starks" Benjen fumed with anger.

"No, Aiden. Do not do it. The Iron Bank is far too powerful for us to go against them. We do not even know if this document is legitimate or not" Ned can understand his brother's anger at the Iron Bank. But if word reaches their ears that they are preparing against them, then they will start preparing against North and that will not bode well for them.

"This document is legitimate alright. The very fact that it survived for three thousand years in a cold damp room is proof of that. Not only that, if you observe closely, it has a watermark of Iron Bank symbol in the background proving its legitimacy. But you are right about one thing, uncle. We are not ready to go against Iron bank. And even if we are and by some miracle, we won against them, it would serve us no purpose as we would have completely exhausted our resources by then and will be left for our enemies to pick on us"

"So? Are we going to do nothing and pretend that this conversation never happened? They made an agreement with our forefathers for protection and when it is convenient for them, they spit on that agreement and continues to do so"

"Well, we could show them this key and the documents and ask for our rightful claim as one among their governors" Ned offered, trying to placate the awoken wolf-blood of his brother.

"Are you really that daft, Ned? Do you really think they will accept our claim? That they will just let an outsider become one of the board of governors among them and give us our ancestral vault?" Benjen bellowed at his older brother.

"What Uncle Ben said is true, Uncle Ned. Legitimate documents or not, we cannot just waltz into Iron Bank and claim our seat and vault out of nowhere and expect them to accept us"

"So what do you propose we do, Aiden?" Ned asked. He knew that his nephew had thought of something about their situation because if he didn't, then he would not have showed then those documents.

Proving his uncle's thoughts to be true, Aiden nodded and then began to explain his plans for the Iron Bank.

Many of Aiden's plans depended on making the North a self-sufficient kingdom in producing its own food first and the massive influx of the people due to the _'Wolf's mouth'_ project, Northern fleet building and other such small projects made it even important more than ever. For that, he needed to overcome the arduous task of making his crops live through the cold winds and less fertile soils of North first. But therein lays the problem. For all the boisterous history of the Lords and Kings of the North, there were no records of anyone researching about any crops which can withstand the harsh climatic conditions of the North other than the typical ones.

So Aiden tasked the eldest son of Lord Manderly, Ser Willas Manderly to go to Essos and find any and all seeds of crops and fruit trees alike which they can use to sustain them. He sent him on that task six moons ago and he returned two moons ago.

Aiden eagerly planted the seeds in the makeshift gardens of Winterfell as well as in some farmlands around Wintertown and soon understood why none of his ancestors did not bother looking for new crops. The soil in North is too brittle for any crops to grow in winter and the water is too cold to sustain them. But Aiden is not about to be put off by such small things. So he set out to scrounge his previous life memories to look for a solution.

Ever since it was revealed to him that he is man given second chance at life, he started meditating in order to ascertain what knowledge he gained from his previous life. That is how he found out from the books on runes of this world, which he found in the Winter Throne room, are not that much different from the runes of his previous self's world. Of course there are some differences like symbols for ice and fire. These two elements are far more powerful than the ones he used in his previous life. Other than that, some small differences like the accounting of lunar cycles and position of stars and planets. But those were quickly overcome by his extensive knowledge on runes, arithmancy and astronomy from his previous life.

And so after another moon's time of scrounging his mind for information on limited area soil and weather manipulation and comparing his previous knowledge with this world's knowledge, he finally found his solution in the form of a ritual which he completed successfully and bound it to weirwood samplings to avoid any doubts. It took him two days to complete the ritual but he got the results within the next moon.

All the crops planted in the areas covered by the weirwood sampling grew up to be healthy and are ready to yield crops within the next two moons. Now all he had to do is wait for the crops to yield before next harvest and showcase the yield of Winterfell's harvest to the visiting Lords and Ladies of the North and then silently whisper into the ears of some of the Old God worshipers about planting the weirwood trees he presented them around the boundaries of the crops.

He could achieve two things by that. One is to strengthen the rumors about him being touched by Old Gods and by extension his position as Warden of North. Other is to eliminate the worship of seven gods. He personally has nothing against them but a few moons back some of the fanatic worshipers of the seven came to him and claimed him to be a product of sin and demanded him to construct a sept for seven in Winterfell to atone for his sins.

Aiden already thought of constructing a sept for his mother figure to worship before they came to him. But after listening to the old fools rambling and calling his a product of sin, Aiden simply banished them out of North, never to return again. He also sent a missive to White Harbor and other Northern Lords forbidding them to construct any new septs for the Seven unless they received orders otherwise.

 **Winterfell (287AC):**

"Lords and Ladies of North. Today we are gathered here to celebrate yet another successful harvest. The last few years had been very tough for us. The last war against the Targaryens affected North the most than any other kingdom and we paid in blood for that. With the winter approaching, it is harder than ever for us"

Everyone nodded their heads in acceptance. So Aiden continued "I'm sure you have already noticed new crops are being sown in and around Wintertown. These are all crops from new seeds we've imported from the free cities of Essos, mostly from Braavos, Lorath and Ibben which can bear the harsh winters of North and can survive with little water. While we cannot solely survive on these crops, we can sell them to the southern kingdoms in exchange for other food items or even have them exported to free cities. Also, I have some new farming instruments and techniques which I want all of you to implement in your lands. Should you accept to, three men will accompany each of you to your keeps and castles to show your farmers on how to use these new techniques and-"

"I've listened enough to your rambling, you pin-prick. We have sworn to follow Brandon Stark and then his brother Eddard Stark. Not a sissy little fuck who thinks he owns us just because he is born in their family. We have been ruling these lands even before you started sucking from your mother's teats and we will do so long after your son does the same to your wife. I will not listen to a boy-toy who-"

Before anyone could stop him, Aiden threw a dagger at the defiant lord's hand, pinning it to the table and another one ready. "Care to repeat it again by coming here, Lord Umber. I did not hear it correctly from all the way there. And please bring this helpless _boy's_ _toy_ which is struck in your hand" Aiden refused to break eye-contact with the overgrown man and the tension in the air became so thick that one can cut it with a sword. After a few minutes of stare down between the two of them, Lord Umber finally broke the stare with a boisterous laugh and plucked the dagger pinning his hand. "This one's a tough meat, Ned. You've raised a fine Stark there. House Umber and the fiefs under Last Hearth will implement the new farming techniques and tools Lord Stark proposes"

Aiden nodded and sat back to observed as the rest of the Northern Lords also accepted to implement these new farming techniques and crops in their fields. He also observed that Roose Bolton accepted his proposals in the last despite him being nearer to the head of the table. 'This one needs to be observed carefully' Aiden mused as he remembered his uncles warning about the Boltons.

After that feast, everyone implemented Aiden's new farming techniques and their yield almost doubled by the next harvest. But unknown to the men, Aiden with the help of his magic and the weirwood trees made the soil fertile and the crops more resistant to the cold Northern winds.

 **291AC (Winterfell)**

Aiden sat in the lord's solar overlooking some documents which needed his written approval. The first phase of ' _Wolf's mouth'_ project has been completed six moons ago and they are already seeing some increase in the ship traffic at White harbor, though it would take at least another six moons before they can see any real increase in traffic. The coffers of Winterfell are also slowly being filled by the toll they are collecting from ships using _'Wolf's mouth'._ The second phase of the ' _Wolf's mouth'_ project is also coming along nicely. In the second phase Aiden planned to extent the breadth of the canal from the present one hundred feet to one hundred and fifty feet wide by extending twenty five feet on both sides and also to construct small settlements along the canal and these settlements will directly be under the control of House Stark. Aiden plans on eventually developing one of these settlements into a port city the size of White harbor.

Like many of his other ideas, his plan to have a full cobble stone paved path from Winterfell to all other major cities, towns and village is met with scorn. The lords argued that their coffers were not as full so as to finance paving path to each and every town and settlement under their control.

 **Flashback**

"Lord Stark" spoke the voice of Lord Hornwood "while I can understand the need to have a paved path from Winterfell to White Harbour, I cannot see the need to have the same to each and every town and village in the North. It's not as if our coffers are as full as House Stark"

"Yer coffers would've been full like the Starks if ye knew how to save 'em instead of spending 'em on whores and that Dornish wine, ye cunt face" boomed out Lord Glover, eliciting a round of cheers from the room.

The red faced Northern Lord sputtered at the indignant reply. "Ha, as if. If yer coffers are so full then why don't ya Glover's first pave the cobblestone road and then tell me"

"Lord Glover will contribute his part for this development project, Lord Hornwood" Aiden interjected coolly, looking at each and every Noble of the North. "Just as you and the rest of the Northern lords will"

"One of the main reasons why the North is so backward" several growls and grunts were heard across the room, but Aiden continued "when compared to Southern Kingdoms or the free cities is because when compared to them, movement of people and goods within the North is very low. Why, before me, all of you would've met only once every five or six years and even then one or two of you would've been missing. But now that we are meeting annually and discussing various problems and their possible solutions, look at the development already in progress. The same is true for people too. The more means of transport we can provide for movement of people and their goods, the more increase in business we can see. _'Wolf's Mouth'_ is a fine example of this. We haven't even opened the canal to full capacity yet and the White Harbour is already seeing an increase in traffic at its port"

"I understand that, Lord Stark. But a paved road to each and every village and town seems a bit too much, especially when some of said villages and towns have very little to offer. I urge you to please reconsider it" Lord Tallhart requested the young Lord Stark.

Many of the gathered Northern lords flinched at the young Stark's sharp gaze. "A compromise then" Aiden leaned forward on the table "The renovation of the Kingsroad from Greywater watch to Last Hearth, connecting the Neck, Moat Cailin, White Harbour to Winterfell and Last Hearth and many more towns and villages in middle is almost completed. So I want you all to start paving a ten feet wide road connecting all your respective settlements to the Kingsroad and a seven foot wide road from at least two towns to your castle or to the Kingsroad, whichever is nearest. Have it completed within the next six moons so that we still have time and men to spare for harvest. If you need any assistance, stay back on the morrow and we will discuss about it. But ignore to follow my orders" Aiden straightened his back a bit and channeled some magic to his throat " **By the old gods I swear, Consequences. Will. Be. Severe."** Aiden punctuated each word, sendingripples of shiver through the gathered Nobles.

 **Flashback End**

Whether it is because of fear of him or the genuine interest in the development of their respective fiefdoms that the paved roads are completed within a moon and half, Aiden knows not, but he'd like to believe it to a mix of both. Also, his idea of tax exemption for a year in exchange for setting up fishing villages along the coasts of inland rivers is also a big hit. Actually his uncle Benjen proposed this idea seeing as the recently discovered treasure in Winterfell's crypts is not yet used.

Now when the Northern fleet is finally constructed, he would have men having some experienced in sea-faring, albeit not plenty experienced, but at least he won't have to start from scratch. But alas, his plans for the Northern fleet did not go as smooth as he would have liked them to go.

In his plans for redeveloping the Northern Fleet, he included labor and financial resources but forgot that the North do not have neither the infrastructure to construct large merchant vessels let alone warships nor the experienced ship builders it needs to build a fleet so large. His attempts to have help from free cities have been rebuffed just like Kings Landing. The lord Hand of the King did not like the North having a fleet of its own and denied them any help citing that it would upset the status quo between the Kingdoms.

Only his uncle Stannis Baratheon responded to his request by coming himself to White Harbour along with his three name days old daughter Shireen Baratheon, who is a bundle of joy and energy. But to his sorrow, they did not stay more than two days as Stannis got a raven requesting his presence in Kings Landing as soon as possible. But the men he left behind, especially Ser Davos Seaworth, famously known as the onion knight, helped Aiden's men immensely. Now under the guidance of Ser Davos and some other experienced ship builders that Lord Manderly managed to somehow procure, they started construction of the Northern fleet. It would take some time for its completion, but Aiden will have his fleet nonetheless.

Presently, Aiden is reading a missive he got from Baldwin Byron, the castellan of Moat Cailin. The initial plans for Moat's reconstruction has been changed and instead of re-erecting the previous twenty towers, in their place, construction of twelve new towers were finalized. These twelve new towers will be connected to a much larger central tower by use of stone made arch bridges. Due to the redesign, initial time period to finish the Moat has been extended to another two years. But after its construction is completed, Moat Cailin will be the shield of the North against any southern invasion and one of the best designed and defended castles in the entirety of Westeros and Essos.

"How many times have I told you not to stay late night, Aiden? It will seriously dampen your health" A feminine voice disturbed Aiden from his deep concentration from the documents spread in front of him. Aiden smiled on listening to the voice. It is a voice he knew all too well. A voice whose owner he came to call as mother.

"More times than I care to count, mother. Is Robb asleep?" Aiden asked, taking his eyes off the documents.

"He is. You just received a raven from our surveyors" Catelyn replied, giving him the missive she retrieved from Maester Luwin.

That got Aiden's interest. From what he understood of the geography of the North, they have several massive mountains and hills, yet none of them were ever surveyed. Aiden immediately sent several teams of surveyors to see if any of the mountains have any minerals, albeit very secretly. He is all for developing the North but it would do him no good if the other Northern Lords found out that their lands contain precious minerals before Aiden could something about it.

Aiden eagerly broke the seal on the missive and read the content. As he read the missive, a frown marred his face initially but quickly replaced by a cold calculative look.

 **Next day (Lord's solar)**

"You sent for us, Aiden?" Ned asked, opening the doors of Lord's solar.

"Did you have to call for a meeting so early in the morning, Aiden?" groused Benjen, still nursing his hangover from his previous night's tryst.

"Here, drink this. It will cure your hangover" Aiden handed his uncle a vial containing an orange colored liquid. Benjen eyed the vial a moment then gulped down in single take. A few seconds later, Benjen's head cleared, overcoming the hangover from his previous night.

"Amazing, Aiden. What is in that vial? My hangover is cured just like that" Benjen gushed out, looking at the vial in his hands in awe.

Aiden saw his uncle's face at chuckled at his awed expression. "That is the cure for hangover, uncle. Something I came up with recently. Glad it could help you"

"As much as I am happy to see you cure Benjen's hangover, which I would appreciate if you won't do every time he goes on a drinking spree" Ned pointed a look at Aiden and Benjen who smiled sheepishly at him, then continued "I believe you called us for another reason"

Aiden's face immediately changed to that of a business mode. "I got a raven from our surveyors last night"

"About time too. So, what did they say? Do we have any gold mines in the North?" Benjen asked eagerly. Aiden shook his head negatively at his uncle.

"Then it seems the Starks won't be shitting gold any time soon" Ben said dejectedly.

"All is not lost uncle. They found a large silver vein in the mountain passes of The Rills and stony shore and a large enough coal deposits in mountains North of Wolfswood and a relatively large iron ore deposit in Grey Cliffs. If the surveyor is to be believed, the silver deposit they found might very well be the largest in the known world"

"So what? Gold is still more precious than silver, iron and coal combined, isn't it? So we will never be able to get back at Iron Bank for all their years of shaming us" Ben replied irritated.

"That is where you are wrong" Aiden looked straight at his uncle's eyes "Finding gold mines in the North is just one path in getting back at our enemies. Trust me when I say I have several other plans in place. Moreover, you are overlooking the advantages of having new ore under the North's control"

"Silver may be less precious than gold but it is still the second most precious metal in the world in terms of economic value. Moreover, silver is almost always found with other minerals nearby. It is only a matter of finding them. Coal can be used for making castle forged steel instead of using firewood and I don't think I need to tell you the advantages of having an iron ore" Aiden continued with his uses of silver until interrupted by his uncle Ned.

"That is all well and good, Aiden but none of the deposits we found are under the direct control of Starks. We can deal with the Karstarks as they are our cadet branch but the Ryswell and the mountain clans are a completely different matter altogether. I doubt they will give us their lands so freely. Even if we purchase those lands from them and later started the mining process, they will call it treachery and it will ignite distrust among other nobles" Ned added.

"Worry not, uncle. I have a plan for that. Lord Ryswell has a daughter, Kayla Ryswell who is six or seven name days younger than uncle Benjen. On the coming harvest feast, we will propose a marriage contract between Kayla Ryswell and uncle Benjen with the mining lands as dowry. I doubt he will object to it because presently, they are nothing but waste lands and he often complained enough to us how those lands are being raided by iron born and other bandits. If he agrees, then with their help, we will develop the settlement at the Blazewater Bay into a full-fledged port city and uncle Benjen will start a new cadet branch with the newly developed port city as his seat of power. Once he is settled there, we will start to mine the ore"

Benjen and Ned gaped on hearing their nephew's cunning plan then Benjen broke out laughing hysterically. It took him a few minutes to control himself. "Alright Aiden, we will proceed according to your plan but what about the Karstarks and mountain clans?"

Aiden shrugged non-committing at his uncle. "I'm sure something will come along before the harvest feast"

Ned nodded along with his brother. He did not like the idea of political marriages but he could understand the need to do so. The Ryswells and Dustins still hold a grudge against him for not bringing their men's bodies after the fight at Tower of Joy. And it's not like Benjen would not find love after his marriage like he did. With that thought, he left the solar along with his younger brother.

Aiden was left alone in his room to think on his thoughts. He still had so many ideas to implement in this world, so many technological advancements that he had no idea where to start. For now though, he would start slow and gradually increase the rate of growth. He turned to the missive he got from one of his contacts in Bravos about the ongoing feud the Sealord of Braavos and the Iron Bank. Aiden wondered how he could use this to his advantage.

 **292AC (Gates of Winterfell)**

"Do you really have to leave, Aiden? You are the Lord Paramount of North and you could just order them to come to Winterfell and they will have to obey you" said a red haired woman, not wanting her son in all but name to leave the safety of Winterfell.

"If I do that, they will come, but they will come so begrudgingly and it will not earn me their respect. Moreover, the conflict between Mountain clans and Northern houses has been going on for far too long and it is high time someone put an end to it once and for all. Lord Umber accuses the mountain clans of abducting his daughter and the mountain clans accuses of Northern Lords killing their people. I will travel to Last Hearth quickly before things escalate any more than they already have. If we are fortunate, we might find his daughter safe and sound and put a full stop to this conflict" Aiden explained to his mother in all but blood.

"Worry not, Catelyn. Aiden is the best swordsman the North has ever seen. Ser Rodrik Cassel says he is so natural with swordplay and archery that Aiden is likely to be touched by the old gods themselves. He can already best five men simultaneously and can fight Benjen and me to a stalemate. Moreover, Benjen and Jory Cassel are going with him and he will have 50 stark soldiers with him. Additionally, Lord Karstark said he will join Aiden at long lake. Nothing is going to happen to him" Ned said, placing his hand on her shoulder for comforting.

It is true that as soon as Aiden sorted out his memories, he took to combat training with a new found determination. He did not limit himself to just sword fighting but also took lessons in archery and fist-fighting. Many people questioned his choice of learning to fist fighting as most of them were under the impression that fist-fighting is nothing more than a tavern brawl. But Aiden did not heed their advice and proceeded to learn the art of fist fighting and a form of martial arts using hardened wooden sticks known as _'Intonga'_ from a master who hailed from Yi Ti. Needless to say, Aiden took to the combat education like fish to water.

Catelyn just huffed at her husband. "You Northerners are a savage bunch. What with your strange customs and sending out little children in cold just to placate your vassal lords"

Everyone chuckled at her "Aye Mother, that we are. But you love us all the same, do you not" Aiden said, hugging his mother from side.

"When will you come back Aiden? You promised to teach me archery and that stick waving today" asked the nine name days old little Robb Stark.

Aiden grinned at his little cousin. "It is not stick waving, Robb. It is called _'Intonga'._ I will be back as soon as I finish my business at Last Hearth. Now be a dear and harass Septa Mordane for me"

Catelyn just hit on the back of his head "Just get on with this journey of yours. The sooner you start, the sooner you can come back to me".

Aiden simply rubbed his head. "As you wish, my lady. With your permission, I shall take my leave"

Little Robb giggled at his brother. "Don't worry, cousin. I will be sure to follow your advice" Catelyn looked horrified at his youngest son and admonished him for behaving like a, what she calls a savage.

Aiden smiled at his brother and tousled his hair. He looked around for Jon, his uncle's bastard son but could not find him. He knew about the animosity between the boy and his Aunt. He tried to be peacemaker between them several times but his Aunt is stubborn on the matter. He gave his mother and brother one last hug and shook hands with his oldest uncle. "Take care of Winterfell for me, uncle"

"You can be sure of that lad" Aiden nodded and with that, he mounted his horse with a practiced ease and rode off to Last Heart, the seat of house Umber.

As Aiden and his entourage disappeared over the landscape, Ned squeezed his wife's shoulders in comfort. "You know, Catelyn. When I placed Aiden in your care when he was two name days old, I never thought you would accept him as anything other than a burden. But time and again you proved me wrong and became a mother he never had. And for that I am forever grateful to you"

Catelyn turned to her husband and looked deep in his eyes. "When you gave him to me, I never thought I would come to love him as I do now. When my father tried to push him from stairs, I rescued him. After maester treated him, he looked up at me with those big blue eyes full of innocence and confusion and asked me in a baby voice 'Will you play with me? That big man said he would play with me and then pushed me from stairs. I do not want to play with him anymore'. I do not know what came over me. Be it motherly instinct to save an innocent child or guilt that my own father tried to kill an innocent child for power, I know not. But I vowed that day to never let any harm come to this child so long as I draw my breath in this world and that is what I'm doing"

"My heart fills with pride, my Lady wife" Ned said, his eyes filled with happiness. Then suddenly his eyes turned to one of sadness and regret. "But I must ask you this. Can you not do the same for Jon? The consequence of his birth is not of his doing but you insist on blaming him for that"

Catelyn immediately threw her husband's hand from her shoulder and replied in a harsh voice "I do not hate him, Ned. But I do not love him either. I already gave my consent for him to attend to maester Luwin for his studies along with our own son, Robb. What more do you expect of me? Every time I see him, all I see is your slap on my faithfulness to you, the result of adultery of the great and honorable Eddard Stark"

Catelyn took a few breaths to calm her raging temper. "Allowing him to sit at our family table during meals is the most I can do for him. This is the end of our discussion about your bastard. We will not be having this discussion again" Catelyn turned her back to Ned and stormed to her room.

Ned stared sadly at the retreating form of Catelyn. 'Oh Catelyn. If only you knew the truth' he thought to himself.

* * *

 **There is the chapter. How do you like it? Please let me know by reviewing or PMing me. Thank you.**


	5. Coming into the Fold

**The King Who Conquered**

 **Note:** **I understand some people saying that Mountain clans of North do not have any clashes with Northern Lords but I would like to point out that I'm not exactly following the canon story here.**

 **I do not own neither Game of Thrones nor Harry Potter series.**

 **I thank all the people who suggested an alternative name for the North. Since I got a response of over 10 different names, I am going to open a poll whose link can be seen in my profile page. Please vote.**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for his excellent work of editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : Coming into the Fold**

 **With Aiden**

Winterfell received a raven regarding the conflict yesterday evening. He knew of the increasing fights between the Umbers, Glovers and the mountain clans. But recently, the increased wildling raids escalated the situation to a whole new level. Now someone kidnapped Lord Umber's daughter and they are out for blood. If left unchecked, it might reach to expand into a civil war. The North is just developing and having a civil war on his hands is the last thing he wants right now. So Aiden immediately set off to meet with Lord Umber and the heads of the largest mountain clans in North and reach a possible decision.

They rode hard for Last Hearth only stopping for meals and rest for an hour twice a day. On the eve of the sixth day, they finally reached Last Hearth.

"Lord Umber, good to see you. Though I wish it could have been under better circumstances" Aiden said as he clasped his hands with Greatjon Umber.

"Aye lad. I wish it too. But those mountain clan scum took my daughter and I'm going to kill them all for that" Greatjon said, his voice gushing with anger.

"Now, Lord Umber" Aiden said sternly. "We are going to meet with the chieftains of mountain clans and get to the bottom of this matter. You are going to stay silent while I, along with your son Smalljon and Lord Karstark deal with them"

Smalljon is the eldest son of Lord Greatjon Umber and is roughly same his age. He met the lad few times before, mostly during the harvest feasts or when the Umbers visited Winterfell to settle some minor disputes. He and Smalljon got along. They spared and hunted together many times.

"Like hell I will. I-" Greatjon was cut off by Aiden. "You will stay silent or I will leave you here, chained up in your own dungeons till I return to free you"

The two stared at each other, neither refusing to back down. Finally after a few minutes Greatjon let out a frustrated growl. "Fine, I will stay silent. But if I find out that those mountain scums are responsible for my daughter's disappearance, I will gut them where they stand"

"And I will help you with that. But first, let us meet them and listen to what they have to say" Everyone let out a chorus of approval and then set out to meet with the mountain clans.

 **Wolf's wood, Shore of long lake**

Makeshift camps have been erupted along the Shore of Long Lake. Naturally Aiden has taken the largest tent and is currently with the rest of Northern Lords to meet with chieftains of Mountain clans.

He needn't wait long as after a few minutes, several rough looking men came in escorted by a herald who quickly introduced Aiden as Lord Stark and rest of Lords by their appropriate titles. If he remembered correctly, there are forty mountain clans out of which six are more powerful than the rest combined.

The exact population of mountain clans is not clear but according to his reports on them, combined they can field around five to six thousand men. So Aiden wanted more than anything to bring them into fold.

"Greetings, Lords of Northern mountain clans" Aiden greeted them, as he strode forward to them. One of the chieftain from clan Wull grunted in amusement at the greeting as did the other men, who continued to measure the new lord of Winterfell.

In actuality, most of the Clan leaders are nervous to meet the new Stark Lord because, despite any misgivings between them and Northern Lords, the Starks of Winterfell always opened their gates to the people of mountain clans during winters. So, in a way, their fate is dependent on the outcome of this meeting.

Aiden knew this but kept calm and proceeded with the meeting. "I will get straight to the point, my Lords. The youngest daughter of Lord Umber has gone missing five days ago and one of the scouts found a lead towards an abandoned camp of mountain clans. Whose camp, we know not. So I ask you all, do you know anything about his daughter's disappearance?" Aiden asked, looking straight at the leaders of mountain clans.

"Of course they know. One of these bastards is the ones who took her" bellowed out Greatjon Umber in rage.

Mountain clan leaders immediately let out raged shouting at the accusation, which are countered by the Umber men present. Aiden slammed his fist hard into the table and bellowed out _'Silence'._ Aiden then turned to Greatjon and leveled a look at him. "Lord Umber. If you cannot stay silent then I will have one of my men escort you outside till this meeting is over. This is your last warning. Do not test me"

The giant of a man gnashed his teeth but nodded his consent rather begrudgingly. Aiden then turned to the clan leaders to continue their meeting. "So, my lords, do you have anything to say regarding her disappearance?"

All the appeared Mountain clan leaders responded in negative. Aiden observed them very closely, taking in their facial and body movements. Aiden no longer thought of his new memories as his previous life's one but an extension of his own life. The more he relieved his additional memories, the more he felt comfortable using his magic and the more of an echo the additional memories he lived became. His prowess in using magic and other magic related things also increased considerably. It is because of this, how he recognized one of the mountain clan members who accompanied clan Norrey twitching lightly at the mention of girl's disappearance.

The man in question immediately found Aiden is onto him and made for a mad dash out of the tent. However, before he could even take a single step, Aiden roughly seized the man by his collar and slammed him onto the table and held his dagger to his throat. "You have two options. First is where you will tell everything you know about the girl's disappearance peacefully and I will let your clan leader to decide your punishment. Second is where I give you to Lord Umber and his men here, who will wring the truth out of you. But I cannot guarantee your safety with them. Choose wisely"

Greatjon and his son Smalljon cracked their knuckles and took a step forward menacingly. Color drained from the man's face as he saw the father and son duo making their way towards him. "Mercy, my lord. Mercy. I did not do it. I would never dare touch one of Lord's daughters. Please, leave me" the man blubbered out.

Aiden again slammed him to the table and punched him across his jaw. "Do not test my patience. Tell me everything you know or else risk face my wrath"

The Norrey clan man nodded his head fervently. "I did not take her, my lord. But when I went out to fetch some fresh water for our camp, I came across a band of wildlings carrying a gagged and bound girl. I quickly hid behind a bush for fear of my life as they made stop at a small stream. I heard them saying something about taking her to the haunted forest beyond the wall and offering her as a sacrifice to their new Cold god. That's it my lord. I know nothing more. Mercy please"

Greatjon let out a loud roar rivaling the roar of a lion but Aiden ignored him and continued his interrogation. "When did this happen?"

"T-two nights ago, my lord. At that time they were at going towards Bay of Ice. I think they have some kind of boat to cross the sea. That is how they managed to bypass the night's watch"

Aiden left the man on the table for the time being and turned towards other people in the room. "I apologize on behalf of my man, my lord. I pledge members of my clan and its resources to you till we find this girl" said the clan leader for Norrey as he stepped forward.

Aiden simply waved off his apology and continued to think on the required strategy to save his vassal lord's daughter. "We should break off into three groups. One group will try to track their trail while the other two groups will scurry the mountains on the seaside. Lord Karstark will take clans Burley, Flint and Knott with him and scrounge the western side while Lord Umber will take clans Harclay, Liddle and Norrey with him to do the same on the northern side. I will take the Wulls along with this man, who will act as my guide and follow the wildling group's trail. By luck, we will catch them before they manage to cross the wall"

Everyone nodded their approval at the plan and immediately organized themselves and set out. After a day and half of riding, Aiden's group found live trail of the wildings group. They immediately set out to follow it and after another day of careful riding and making sure his enemies does not know of Aiden's group, they finally found the wildlings group and the missing daughter of Lord Umber. Aiden signaled his men to silently surround the wildling group and wait till nightfall. They needn't wait long as within another hour the sun started to set and within another half-an-hour, they were greeted by night's darkness.

The multi-colored eyes of the ten and four name-days old Aiden glowed brightly in the dark of night. His group waited for the opportune time to attack the wildlings, lest they injure the girl. After what seemed to be an eternity they finally found their window of opportunity when the wildlings left the girl to set their blankets and furs to sleep for the night. Aiden immediately capitalized their momentary mistake and signaled his men to attack.

Aiden himself drew his long sword _'Ice'_ and hacked at the nearest wildling. The entire fighting finished in the blink of an eye as Aiden's men came down on wildlings like a huge tidal wave on a bunch of squirrels. He cut the bindings on the girl who immediately clung to Aiden for her dear life. Aiden soothed the girl by petting her head and whispering pleasantries in the girl's ears. The girl would be no more than four name-days old and to think these men would have offered her as a sacrifice made his blood boil all the more. One of the men gave the poor girl a fur coat and hot soup to keep her from catching cold. Aiden remained on the girl's side for the rest of the night and the next morning they set out to meet with the remaining members of the search party.

As soon as the little girl saw her father and brother, she flung herself on to them. Greatjon Umber hugged his little girl fiercely along with his son. Aiden smiled softly at the Umber family reunion. As soon as Greatjon spotted Aiden near them he strode toward him and gave him a tight bear hug. Aiden struggled to breathe due to being suddenly enveloped by the giant of a man and patted on his shoulders. "Can't breathe, Lord Umber" Everyone in the vicinity let out a boisterous laugh "House Umber will always be in your debt, Lord Stark". Aiden simply nodded at the huge man. "It is my duty as your lord to help his vassals in times of trouble, Lord Umber. But I appreciate the sentiment all the same"

The Umbers and Karstarks left to their own keeps while Aiden and his party had been invited by the chieftain of Wulls to visit their clan grounds and stay for the night. Aiden saw no harm in accepting their request so he obliged and followed the Wulls to their home.

After an hour of riding, a small settlement protected by a small palisade wall came into view. Seeing their leader leading the group of newcomers, the sentinels placed at for watch duty opened the gates. Small thatched houses littered the length of the road and in the distance; Aiden could see a two story stone building, probably the only stone building in the village. _'Must be the clan leader's home'_ thought Aiden. They came to a stop in front of the said building and handed over their horses to a stable boy. Aiden and his uncle Benjen were shown rooms inside the stone building while the rest of his men were shown barracks.

Noah Wull is an honorable man. But he did not become the chieftain of Wulls by being just an honorable man. No. He became that by using his ambitious and cunning nature. So when he heard that the new Lord Stark asked all the chieftains of mountain clan to meet to discuss the disappearance to Lord Umber's daughter, he coaxed other clan leaders to agree to the meeting. The tales of the skills of newly minted Lord Stark in both the sword wielding and ruling reached even their ears and he is eager to see for himself if the rumors about the chosen one of the Old Gods is true or not and he had to say the rumors about him did not do any justice.

After hearing that the girl had been kidnapped by wildlings from one of the mountain clan members he thought that they will be blamed for it but he was surprised by Aiden not only not blaming them but also giving the traitor back to him own clan to give out the punishment. Noah thought the boy is too green to give out punishments but boy was he wrong. The moment he saw a chance, the Stark lord ran head first into the battle and sliced his opponent with any shred of mercy. A shudder ran through his body even now remembering the way the wildling's head was cut in half and separated from his body. So deep in his thoughts that Noah did not observe someone sits across him at the table.

"Penny for your thoughts, Lord Wull" said a voice, startling Noah out of his thoughts. He saw Aiden already sitting opposite him with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Lord Stark! Didn't ya there. Did ya find what ya were looking for? I honestly don't know what you'd find in the Mad Hills" drawled the clan leader.

"Oh I found what I'm looking for, alright. In fact, I found more than what I'm looking for" Aiden turned to take out something from his leather bag he brought with him. He took out several red and yellow colored cherries and poured them on table. He held one cherry between his fingers and asked "Do you know what these are, Lord Wull?"

Noah looked confused at the question but answered "I believe they are the Mad berries, after which those hills you visited this morning are named"

Aiden chuckled at the ignorant Wull chieftain. "I don't know about them being Mad but these are no mad cherries. These are what people call coffee cherries. Once they are processed enough, they can be used to make coffee, a beverage which some people drink instead of tea. Drinking coffee gives the person a temporary energy boost. Your livestock must've eaten these coffee cherries while they were grazing those hills which would explain their abnormal behavior. If you can cultivate these plants and then sell the processed coffee beans, then it will become a stable monetary resource. If you want, I can show you how to process them to ground coffee powder"

Noah looked at the said cherries and then at Aiden doubtfully but acceded finally as he got nothing to lose by trying and they spent the rest of morning with Aiden explaining the process to several household members of Wull.

If has been two days since Aiden and his men came to the Wull clan compound and just today they finished grounding the processed coffee beans and brewed coffee and it became an instant hit with the locals and the Wulls are confident they can make more of this coffee and thanked Aiden profusely for teaching it to them.

While overlooking another batch of coffee beans being grounded to powder, Aiden has been summoned to the chieftain's room. Aiden opened the door and entered the room. It is a typical Spartan room with little furniture and horns and skins of bears and mountain tigers here and there.

Seeing the young man enter the room, the Wull leader got up from his chair and greeted him. "Good lad, ya said ye have something to discuss with me? What is it?"

"Aye, Lord Wull. I have something important to discuss with you"

"Come on then lad, sit down. I somehow get the idea that this is going to be a long talk"

"Aye. I believe it will be" and took the seat opposite to the Wull clan leader.

"So how is the new coffee production? Is everything to your satisfaction?" Aiden asked him.

"Aye lad. Everything is good at the moment. I cannot thank you enough for that"

Aiden smiled softly but continued "I believe you've heard about the development projects that are going on in the North"

Noah cocked his eyebrow at the question, wondering where this conversation is going. "Aye, I've heard of them and frankly speaking, I did not think none of them can be accomplished but ya proved me wrong"

"Thank you, Lord Wull. I cannot credit for everything. But I appreciate the sentiment all the same. And I have several more projects in mind. In fact, I have some projects in mind for mountain clans as well". That grabbed Noah's interest. For as long as he can remember, the mountain clans always depended on the Northern Lords during the winters.

"And what might those projects be?" Noah asked, leaning forward on his table.

Aiden too leaned forward on the table and looked straight at Noah's face. "What if I told you that we will build you holdfast for you and your people so that you have a permanent and secure place to stay and be protected from the cold and harsh winters?"

Noah narrowed his eyes into slits on hearing Aiden's offer. If Noah is any lesser man, he would've jumped at the chance but he knew better than that. He knew that such an offer will always come at a price and he will be damned if he did not find out the price before giving his answer.

"They I will ask what will be the price for such an offer?" Noah asked in a careful, condensed voice.

"Nothing. At least, nothing that is not out of your sphere of influence. In a recent survey I personally sponsored, we found that there are large deposits of Coal in the mountains North of Wolfswood"

"And as these mountains are controlled by mountain clans, you want me to help you move them from there so that you can mine those lands without any kind of nuisance. Is that what you want boy?" Noah almost roared by the last word, seething at the young man in front of him. How dare the brat in front of him even suggest such a thing to him?

Aiden narrowed his eyes at the older man's accusation. He could understand how anyone would jump to such conclusion but Aiden had to maintain his posture of authority here if he wants to have any semblance of cooperation with the mountain clans in the future and so replied in a cold tone "Mind the tone you use in front of me, Lord Wull. I may be away from my men and my home but I can assure you I'm more than capable of taking care of myself and need be, my enemies as well. And you do not want me as your enemy. Now cool down and listen to what I have to say before you make a much bigger fool of yourself"

Noah's nose flared on hearing cold reply but he decided to listen nonetheless. "The Starks have no interest in owning these lands. In fact, we will be happy to supply the required assistance to the mountain clans to begin excavating the Coal. No, what I want from you is to bring all forty of the mountain clans under one banner. If you can accomplish to do that, then I'm willing to raise your clan to the status of a Noble House of the North and raise one more clan of your choosing to the status of masterly house. I believe that most of the mountain clans already listen to and follow your clan so it shouldn't be that much of a difficult. So, what say you?"

Noah sat there, staring dumb at the young man in front of him. Of all the things he could've expected, this is not even on his most bizarre list. It took a few minutes to process what Aiden said. After thinking hard for another few minutes he replied "Why would you do that? Why would you want the mountain clans to be united? Won't that endanger your reign here? And won't your vassal lords raise a ruckus if you simply gave us such a valuable resource?"

"Let me worry about my vassal lords. They can scream all they want but they will follow my commands at the end and if I say the mountain clans will have the Coal mines then have it they will, provided of course that you fulfill my conditions"

"And you haven't still answered my first two questions, Lord Stark"

Aiden shrugged his shoulders "Honestly, I'm sick and tired of the southerner kingdoms and the rest of the world looking down on us like nothing more than savages. I mean, the North is the largest among the seven kingdoms, larger than the rest of the kingdoms combined and still we do not have a say in the happenings of King's Landing. When I thought about the reason for this, I found that the North is too stagnant and too fractured to care about the politics of the south. And I intend to change that. I intent to unite the North like it had never been united before by bringing all the Northern clans, including the mountain clans into fold. I intend to make the North take its place as the most powerful kingdom in the world and I cannot do that with my vassal lords being poor and weak. So, what you say, Noah of clan Wull? Will you remain in your mountains and live out the rest of your life as mediocre man counting your days or will you reach out and walk with me as I lead the North to a new era?"

Noah stared at the young man hard, searching his eyes and face for any sign of lies and deceit and Aiden returned the gaze with the same intensity, knowing that if he backed down now, all his effort will be thrown in ashes.

"Thirty eight" Lord Wull replied after several minutes of deliberation, thinking about Aiden's speech over and over again.

"Sorry? Thirty eight?" Aiden asked confused at the reply.

"Aye lad. Last year in a clash against some pirates and ironborn scum, the scrys and braks became extinct. So there are only thirty eight mountain clans now" Noah said in a grave voice.

Aiden nodded, filing away the information. "Sorry about your loss, Lord Wull. So have you decided what your answer is going to be?"

"So long as I can remember, the Starks have always been good to the mountain clans, always opening their gates and sharing food with our men and women during winters. And I can see the makings of a great man in you"

Aiden stood up and extended his hand toward the mountain clan leader "So I guess that means that you accept my proposition then?"

Noah clasped his hand with Aiden's extended hand "I would be an idiot not to accept your proposal lad"

Aiden nodded "The next harvest feast is in another two moons. You have till then to bring the mountain clans under a single banner and bring them to me to bend the knee. Only after that will your holdfast construction will be started"

"I understand lad and I will bring them into the fold by then even if I have to do that by kicking and dragging them the along the way" Noah said, determination brimming in his eyes.

Aiden raised his Northern mead glass and said "To a bright and prosperous North"

Noah clinked his glass to Aiden "Aye, to a bright and prosperous North"

 **Two days before Harvest feast**

"Eeeekkkk…." The denizens of the entire castle of Winterfell were startled by the sudden banshee scream but once they recognize who that voice belonged to, they went on their daily work as if nothing has happened.

Everyone is happy with the changes that have been happening in the North as they are finally starting to rely less and less on the southern kingdoms and other free cities for their continued existence.

All except for one certain auburn haired young girl who is currently glaring at black furred tiny monstrosity which is lying lazily on her well-made bed. The girl in question is known as Sansa Stark, the eldest daughter to Eddard 'Ned' Stark and Catelyn Stark formerly of house Tully. The black furred monstrosity in question yawned lazily and slowly opened its emerald green eyes only to see a hair brush coming its way and made to scurry away from its path but to no avail as the brush hit home, causing the tiny dire wolf to fall from the bed.

The moment it collapsed on the floor, it made a mad dash for the door and out into the corridor, only to be followed by a very angry Stark girl with another hair brush in her hand, hot on its tail. "Wait you mangy mutt. Slow down. I will kill you when I catch you"

The dire wolf in question turned to look at its pursuer and gave her a look which said _'Do you seriously expect me to stop after just threatening my life'._ It turned around the corner and then jumped out into the training yard.

Aiden was looking at his cousin chasing after his dire-wolf from his balcony with a fond smile on his face. He found the estranged wolf on his return journey from the mountain clans.

 **Flashback**

"Stop fucking with the food, Pilman. You've already had your fill. Now go before I complain to Lord Stark about you stealing the food" Shouted a man with a jagged scar on his left cheek.

"What the fuck are you talking about, Kenneth? I 'aven't touched any food. Now quit being a cunt and pass me my ration of food before I decide to bash your skull" countered another haggard looking man.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try puny Pilman" the man named Kenneth sneered, unsheathing a dagger from his sleeves.

"What seems to be the problem here?" a voice boomed behind both the men, causing the men to jump at the sudden intrusion. Recognizing who the voice belonged to, both the men in question paled considerably.

"M..my Lord Stark, this man here is stealing food every day since we left the grounds of clan Wull" Kenneth pointed his hand at Pilman

"Lies, my Lord, nothing but utterly disgusting lies. I swear by the old gods, I never touched the food outside of our breaks. You have to believe me" Pilman pleaded; sweat pouring out of his brow even in the cold weather. Ever since the fight against wildlings, the way Aiden sliced through the wildlings, all the soldiers accompanying him started to see him in a new light. Before this mission, everyone knew Aiden only as an accomplished swordsman and the one favored by the old gods (if you believe in that sort of thing) but after the fight, their respect for him skyrocketed and their fear of him too increased in the same quantity.

Aiden took a hard long look at both of his soldiers, trying to decipher who is lying but is shaken out of his stare by another shout.

"By the old gods, what is that thing?" bellowed someone from the outer edge of the temporary camp they made. Aiden turned in the way the shouting came and saw just in time as two shining emerald green eyes disappearing in the dark of night.

Aiden immediately shouted orders to his men to spread out and begin search for the creature. After an hour of searching, all his men returned and reported their findings, which is nothing; leaving Aiden confused as how in the seven hells did the creature left their camp without a trace. Aiden is once again roused out of his musings on hearing a small yip and then whining of sorts. He left in the direction of the sound only to find a small black furred pup with its head stuck in a water jug causing the pup to whine.

By the time Aiden approached the pup his men surrounded the scene, curious to find what is causing the noise. Aiden slowly lifted the pup, peeling the water the jug from its head and brought the pup to his face level. Aiden could instinctively tell that his is no ordinary wolf pup as he could sense some sort of magic from it and slowly brought his other hand in front of its face. It sniffed a few times and then bit his hand, drawing blood. Aiden flinched at the bite then boinked it on its snout lightly. The pup whined a bit, then shook its head once more and then licked Aiden face causing the young Lord Stark to laugh.

"I guess we found our food thief then. Looks like the little pup likes you, Aiden" Benjen said with a chuckle from side lines.

Aiden turned toward his uncle with a smile on his face. "This is not just any pup, uncle. This is a dire wolf pup" then frowned "but I wonder how it got so far south of Wall"

Benjen's eyes widened on hearing his nephew "But direwolves are supposed to be pack creatures which live far North of wall. I wonder what happened to this little one's pack. Thought, to survive so long without a pack, this one looks like a survivor"

As if understanding what Benjen just said, the little dire wolf pup yipped causing all the men to laugh. "So, what are you going to name him?"

The little creature somehow managed to get free of Aiden's hold and climbed onto Aiden's left shoulder and settled there. Aiden turned to the pup. The more he saw the pup, the more it reminded him of a certain black furred grim Animagus. Aiden knew just what to name his new pet.

"Sirius. Your new name is Sirius. How do like it?" The pup in question yipped happily at him, confirming its acceptance of the new name.

 **Flashback End**

Aiden is brought out of his musings by someone clearing his throat. He turned to find a very nervous looking Maester Luwin by the door. "What is it, Maester Luwin? Did something happen?"

"Uh. . you have a guest who is requesting your presence, my Lord. I believe it is better you attend to this matter with haste" Aiden frowned on hearing the nervous looking maester. Luwin is a level headed and experienced man. For the man to become nervous, something truly terrific must have happened. "Lead the way, Maester Luwin. I shall attend immediately to the matter which rattled you" Aiden observed as the man flinched on mentioning him but refrain himself from commenting any further.

Luwin led Aiden into courtroom where Aiden or in his absence, his uncle Eddard usually listen to the grievances of small folk and minor lords. He saw that both his uncles are present along with Ser Rodrik Cassel, his master-at-arms and Jory Cassel, his captain of guards. But what caught his attention is the man standing in the middle of the courtroom. He is a rugged looking tall man, almost as tall as Greatjon Umber wearing dirty and torn clothes. His beard is also very unkempt with hollow cheeks, a sign of poverty.

He also noted that the man locked his eyes on him the moment he entered the room and followed his every movement. The moment he sat on the ' _Winter Throne'_ his eyes widened slightly then gave way to a grin.

Four years ago when Aiden found The _'Winter throne'_ , he immediately thought of using it to further cement his position as Lord of Winterfell but after some amount of deliberation he decided against it, saving it for the right occasion. And incorporating the Mountain clans into the North's fold, giving them the status of nobility along with several other things he is going to announce this coming harvest feast made Aiden thinks that this is the perfect moment to announce to the world the discovery of the vaunted ' _Winter Throne'._

The stranger who had everyone on the edge due to his presence in the room bent his knee and bowed his head as a show of respect. "My Lord! It gives me untold amounts of joy to see the Winter Kings returned to Winterfell"

Aiden narrowed his eyes and cocked his eyebrow at the statement. "Rise stranger. Who are you? And why have you come here?"

The man in question rose from his position and shook his head. "I am Thorak, the eldest son of Twarak, Lord of house Magnar of Skagos. I'm here to renew my oath of fealty to you, my lord" the man said with a smile.

Aiden's eye twitched at bit but stayed silent for the time being. "Most curious to see one of the Skagossons come here to swear fealty to me. Because it is not even a week ago since I got a reply from your people, a most bloody reply if I recall" he hissed the last sentence. Aiden sent his men to summon the Lords of Skagos for the next harvest feast in hopes of getting the Skagos into fold as well and the reply he got is not something he anticipated. Only three men returned from the venture, carrying with them the body parts of their fellow comrades in pieces. Aiden thought to put forth a resolution in the coming harvest feast to raise the banners to occupy the island of Skagos once and for all. But the arrival of the new man who claimed to be the son of Lord Magnar changes his plans.

The man's smile faltered on hearing Aiden and a shiver ran through his spine as he heard the cold touch in Lord Stark's voice. In that moment he decided that the boy, no man in front of him is not someone to be fucked with. Thorak shrugged off his uneasiness and continued "That is one of the reasons I came here personally, my lord. The present. . . what is the word. .ah social conditions on Skagos is something which I wish to discuss with you on length"

That got Aiden's interest. He leaned forward on his throne, his eyes narrowed inquisitively. "Oh do tell, Thorak, son of Twarak"

The Skagosi man gave out a long sigh before diving into the explanation. "I guess it all started a year ago with the arrival of some wildlings from beyond the wall claiming themselves as the followers and messengers of the Cold God"

* * *

 **There you go. Another chapter. Please read and review. Thank you**


	6. Coming Together

**The King Who Conquered**

 **I do not own neither Game of Thrones nor Harry Potter series.**

 **The poll to rename the North is closed and "Northrend" got the majority of votes. I thank all the people who participated in the poll.**

 **I thank** **joaomanuelarelomansogoncalves** **for editing this chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 : Coming Together**

Cold God. This is the second time he is hearing of this term. Cannibalism, taking no prisoners except women for breeding, sacrificing their captured prisoners and presenting them as offerings to their New Cold God seems to be norm of this new cold religion. Is this the ancient evil Death spoke of? If so, he is not equipped to deal with. The North is only developing now. Admittedly, they made more progress in the last few years than the last few centuries combined but it still nowhere near the point where he would be comfortable to deal with these ancient mystical powers. What is he supposed to do? What would happen if he did attack Skagos? Will the so called Cold God retaliate? If they did retaliate, can they hold their ground as they are at present? So many questions but answers to those questions evaded him.

On one hand, he did not want to touch Skagos now, at least not yet. But on the other hand, he cannot let the influence of the ancient evil to grow unchecked. Skagos can mount at the very least two to three thousand fierce warriors and not to mention the resources the island territory has in its un-touched bosom. Thorak brought two unicorns, actual freaking unicorns as one of his 'few gifts' as he put it. He still could not believe it, granted the unicorns here are quite different from the unicorns of his previous world. For one, he could say quite confidently that the blood and horns of these unicorns do not have the magical healing properties of his native world unicorns. In fact, he could sense very little amount of magic from them. For him they are nothing but glorified horned horses with incredible speed and endurance. He would have to research on the magical animals present on this world. Then there are aurochs, the thought to be extinct animals and he brought them in dozens. Aiden already made plans for propagating their species and save them from the brink of extinction.

And last but the most important of his gifts, the white marble look alike rock made from the same material as his Winter Throne. The special property of the rock is it can hold magic given to it from outside. It can actually freaking hold magic without any use of runes, like a magical battery and Thorak assured Aiden that there is a mountain made of such rocks in Skagos. But unfortunately, the followers of Cold God are mining it at the moment and he would need to drive them from Skagos if he ever wanted to mine that mountain for his own.

So deep in his thoughts that he did not notice a new presence behind him, slowly making its way to Aiden, careful not to make any sound, lest it alerts him. The new figure brought both its hand forward, hunched its back a bit and suddenly leapt toward Aiden's unsuspecting body and threw its hands on the in front of his face, covering his eyes.

Aiden is startled by the sudden attack but relaxed immediately on hearing the musical laugh of the new figure. The new person leaned down to Aiden's ear and whispered "Remember me, my Lord Stark?"

"Of course, Smalljon. We went on too many hunts together to forget you so easily" Aiden replied innocently.

A scowl marred on the new person's face and hit Aiden in the back of his head "You are a foul git, Aiden. You know that"

Aiden let of a throaty laugh "Pouncing on your liege lord and calling him a foul git to his face, Alys! Maybe I should have you thrown in dungeons to teach you a lesson"

Alys smirked "In your dreams, pretty eyes"

Aiden's eyebrow twitched on hearing Alys's nick name for him. Four years ago, when his uncle Stannis Baratheon decided to visit White Harbour along with his daughter Shireen; Lord Rickard Karstark along with his eldest daughter Alys Karstark decided to join them to welcome the second eldest of the Baratheon brothers. During their small stay, Shireen commented on how pretty Aiden's multi-colored eyes were in front of Alys and the name struck since them.

"Do not call me that, Alys" Aiden growled.

"Oh? What are you going to do if I continued to call you pretty eyes, my Lord pretty eyes?" Alys challenged.

"I will make you wish you hadn't called me that" Aiden retorted

"And how are you going to do that, pretty eyes?"

"Like this" and with that he pounced on her and started tickling her sided ruthlessly. Alys squealed to Aiden's machinations which made the young Stark redouble his efforts. "Leave m. .me. . . .haha. . .haha. . .Ok I'm sor. . .sorry. I won't call . . haha. . .haha you that. Ple. . .please"

Aiden took mercy on her and returned to his early position on the edge of decrepit watch tower and laid down on the floor. Alys took the spot beside him and lay her head on his chest. Aiden stroked her raven colored hair as she snuggled further into her chest and let out a content sigh.

"When did you arrive at Winterfell?" Aiden asked, still moving his fingers in her hair.

"Right before you ended the session with that man" she replied. Aiden just hummed, but remained silent otherwise. "You almost ran out of court room, Aiden. That is so out of character for you" Aiden still remained silent.

"Father told that, that man is son of Lord Magnar. Is it true?" Alys asked

"Yes"

"Did he come to bend his knee and swear fealty to you?"

"True"

"That's great" Alys gushed but getting no reaction from Aiden, she asked "isn't it? I thought you wanted to bring Skagos into the fold"

"Yes"

"Then having house Magnar behind you makes that easier doesn't it?"

"True"

"Then why is your face so gloomy doomy?"

"It's nothing". Alys smacked hard on his chest. "Ow. . . woman. Stop hitting me"

"Then stop giving me one word answers. Why aren't you happy even after he swore his fealty to you?"

Aiden looked Alys straight in her eyes and said "Do you remember that day how I saved you from falling from this very tower?"

Alys let out an involuntary shudder on remembering the event.

 **Flashback**

Six years ago, Alys visited Winterfell along with her father. At that time she was wandering the castle and came to this tower. As she was enjoying the scenario of Wintertown from the tower's highest floor she slipped and plummeted towards the ground. She thought that she was going to die at that moment and closed her eyes. Then suddenly she felt a squeezing sensation at her navel and soon her entire body felt like it is being squeezed through a tube. As the sensation curbed, she opened her eyes only to find herself in a bed with soft blankets behind her and a masculine form standing in front of her.

"Are you alright, Lady Karstark?" Alys rubbed her bleary eyes and focused on the person in front of her only to come across the most vivid blue eyes with specks of green and ring of violet on the outer edge of his pupils.

"Y..yes my Lord. How did I get here? The last thing I remembered is slipping from the tower and falling towards the ground. I thought I was going to die" Alys said with a shudder.

Aiden laid his hand on Alys's shoulder and squeezed encouragingly "Worry not, Lady Karstark. I saw you falling from the tower and saved you. Now you are safe here"

At that moment Alys took note of the room she currently in. The room had very little decor like any other Northern men's room with a shelf full of books on one end and a table with several parchments neatly arranged on it.

Alys then narrowed her eyes at Aiden in suspicion "But how did I get in here? Better yet, how did you save me from falling? That tower is at least sixty foot high and if you saved me like you said you did; then we should at least have some injuries from falling from such a height"

Aiden chuckled amusedly at the ranting of the girl in front of her. Alys eyebrow twitched on hearing the person in front of her chuckling at her instead of answering her. "Why are you laughing? Do my questions look like jokes to you?" she snarled at him.

Aiden held up him hands in mock surrender. "My apologies for laughing at you, Lady Karstark but you have to admit it is funny when the person you saved from certain death start interrogating you instead of thanking you for saving her". Alys had the decency to blush on hearing Aiden and looked away. She meekly bowed her head and said a thank you which Aiden accepted.

As Aiden accepted her thanks, she immediately started "So, now are you going to tell me how you managed to save me without any of us even getting so much as a scratch on us?"

Aiden let out a helpless sigh and said "You are not going to leave it, are you?"

Alys shook her head "Definitely not. I want to know how you did it?"

"Then you have to promise me not to divulge anything I say now to anyone. Not even your father, Lord Karstark".

Alys nodded her head eagerly and leaned forward as Aiden came forward her. Aiden leaned towards her ear and whispered "Magic" and immediately bolted towards the door.

Alys let out a growl "You ass hole. Come back here" and threw the nearest thing she got her hands on towards Aiden, who just in time managed to see himself out of his room. Alys could only listen to his mocking laugh reverberate the outside corridor and started Aiden on a merry chase. Of course, after several hours of chase, she finally managed to drag him to his room and made him confess how he really saved her and what other things he can do. After that incident, they both talked for some time during which he found out that she is a very intelligent woman for her age and so he shared some of his plans for the North with her and she provided some insight for his plans whenever she could and over the next few years they both became very close.

 **Flashback End**

"Yes, I remember and still can't believe you can do all those things you said you can do" Alys murmured into his chest and lifted her head to look at Aiden's face "But what does that have anything to do with that Skagosi man?"

Aiden got up from his position on the floor and gently detached himself from Alys and stared at the night sky. Alys snaked her hand through his and laid her head on her shoulder "Come on Aiden. You know you can trust me. What is it that got you so weighed down?"

Aiden stared at her, debating whether or not to involve her in this mess and decided against it. He took a deep breath and said "Some things, Alys, are not shared with your loved ones, not because they are not trusted but because you love them too much to place such a burden on them"

Alys made to speak something but Aiden cut her off by saying "There are things in this world, Alys. Things, which if you try to learn about them, have a tendency to in turn learn about you and that is not a risk I'm willing to take"

Alys just huffed at him in anger which made him chuckle at her puffed up cheeks. He leaned forward and gave a quick peck at her left cheek and asked "So, where is your father? I have an important meeting with him"

Alys immediately forgot about her anger and replied in an excited voice "Oh yeah. Father also said something about meeting with you and Lord Eddard Stark and he seemed to be pretty excited about it. Want to share why?"

Aiden took an innocent expression on his face and replied "Oh, I don't know, this is a Noble house business and I'm not sure about involving a woman in it", enjoying the indignant expression on her face. Aiden knew how much his female friend hated it when someone says she cannot do something just because she is a girl.

Alys narrowed her eyes at her male friend said in a slow threatening voice "You have five seconds to spill what business you have with my father or else you will be in for a world of pain"

On hearing her, Aiden turned a few shades of white. Some small part of his still functioning mind thought that maybe, just maybe playing with the she-wolf in front of him is not such a great idea so he immediately tried to cool her down "Hehe. . .no need to get angry my lovely lady wolf"

"Then you better start talking, pretty eyes" Alys replied in the same angry tone.

"Well, I may have asked my uncle Ned to suggest a possible betrothal contract with you to your father and maybe he is here to discuss the terms of the cont-" Aiden was tackled down to floor and is showered with kisses on his face by Alys before he could finish his sentence.

"Oh my god. That is. . . that is. . . why did you not mention it to me in your last raven to me?" she said hitting him lightly on his shoulder and turned to other direction huffing at him. It took a few seconds for Aiden to process what just happened. One moment, she was threatening him, then she tackled him to floor, showering him with kisses and now she is again angry at him. Honestly, he had immense knowledge from his previous life for the development of this world but not even a single plan of action on how to deal with women and their mood swings.

Aiden shook his head and chuckled lightly at the huffing girl in front of him. He placed both his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them gently "I know how much you like surprises, Alys. So, I just wanted to make it a surprise for you. Now let us go meet your father before he thinks I'm being rude to him"

* * *

This years' harvest feast is a loud and boisterous affair and Aiden made sure all the visiting lords and ladies had everything they asked for. He even arranged several luncheons in Wintertown and surrounding villages for the small folk. It is not just to show off the wealth of House Stark but also to prove to everyone that the North or Northrend as they are calling it now; is no longer dependent on the southern kingdoms for its continued existence.

Presently, our young Stark is busy meeting the visiting lords and ladies and making sure everything is to their liking. But what no one knew is that him raising privacy wards around the great hall. He knew that no matter how safe he thinks he is from spying and eavesdropping, someone can find some way to counter his measures and so he decided to use magic for the first time on such a large scale because in this meeting he planned to unveil several major plans for the continued development of Northrend. Not to mention his plan on showcasing the _"Winter Throne"_ to the other Northern Lords for the first time since its discovery.

He is no fool to think that no one noticed the changes in Northrend. In fact, he knows for a fact that the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, Tyrells of Highgarden and the Maesters of citadel are already making subtle inquiries as to why the Northerners are not buying as much as they used to buy from them in the past. It is only thanks to his well-placed wards he placed around his business investments that he managed to silence any and all the spies from sending information on his new inventions and investments.

So, Aiden is being extra cautious, lest some sensitive information may fall into the hands of someone who wanted to manipulate Northrend. No one needed to know the strength of Northrend, nor the plans he had for its upliftment. Although some of his businesses like paper manufacturing has raised several eyebrows, currently, all the Southern Kingdoms are thinking that Northrend is in a heap of debts from the construction of _'Wolf's mouth',_ Northern Fleet and Moat Cailin. And he intended to keep it that way for the time being.

* * *

As the time went by, all the lords trickled into the great hall and took their respective seats but not before widening their eyes on catching the white construct at the far end of the long oval shaped table.

Ned cleared his throat and banged his fist against the table, gathering the attention of the Lords. "My lords, there is business to be discussed. So we will not be dillydallying any longer. I present the floor to Lord Aiden Stark, Head of Great House Stark and Lord Paramount of Northrend to lead this meeting of Lords"

Everyone looked around the room to see where the young lord is but couldn't find him anywhere. "Ned!" said the booming voice of Lord Umber "Where is our Lord Stark? As far as I can see, he is not here. Unless of course if he is hiding behind that huge thing" he said, pointing at the winter throne. "Why didn't ya tell us that you found the _'Winter Throne'_?"

Suddenly the doors to the great hall banged open and in strode a small dog sized dire wolf, it's menacing green eyes glaring at the attending lords and not long after him strolled the young Lord Stark in question. He strode straight towards the Winter Throne and before sitting on it, he glanced at every lord present in the great hall. A variety of emotions flicker through their faces on seeing Aiden in front of the famed ancient relic. Aiden deliberately took his time to run his hands through the handle of the seat, then at the head of the dire wolfs sculptured into the handles of the throne then slowly, not breaking his eye contact with the lords, sat on the throne and gave out a burst of magic.

Everyone in the room, hell, everyone in the castle had felt the burst of magic. It was a euphoric feeling, a sudden rush of energy which evoked feelings they couldn't quite put their finger on. After a few seconds, the burst of magic subsided and the entire great hall remained silent, no one uttering even a single word. It was broken by Lord Medger Cerwyn getting up from his seat and moving towards Aiden. He took out his long sword and held its pointed end toward the ground kneeled in front of his liege lord. "My Lord Stark, the Cerwyns remember the ancient words of fealty given to the Winter Kings of the Old and I intend to do the same to the new Winter king" and without waiting for a reply, he continued

 _"Winter comes and now I, Lord Medger Cerwyn, Head of House Cerwyn, give you my fealty. It shall not end until end of my line. House Cerwyn shall be your sword and shield during the Winter's darkness. My house and men shall be yours to command and your enemies shall become mine during any conflict we may have against the intruders who question your sovereignty over these lands. I pledge my life and honor to the Great House of Stark from this day forth, to the end of days. Where ever the Starks goes, the Cerwyns will follow"_

Aiden remained quiet and put an emotionless face on display as Lord Cerwyn recited the ancient words of fealty to him but internally, he is quite surprised. While he was expecting everyone to be more in-line with his decisions after showing that he is accepted by the Winter Throne, he seriously did not expect them to recite the fealty they gave to his ancestors. Fortunately, he also remembered his words of promise in exchange to the words of fealty he received.

 _"Winter comes and I, Lord Aiden Stark, Head of Great House Stark, give you my promise of protection in exchange for your fealty to me and my house. I and my house shall protect yours during the Winter's darkness and shall place you and yours under the protection of House Stark against any and all threats posed to your house. My castle gates shall always be opened to your house and your enemies shall quiver before the wrath of me and my house should they ever contest your claims on what is rightfully yours. I accept your words of fealty, Lord Cerwyn and now see you as my vassal lord from this day forth, to the end of days. Rise now, Lord Cerwyn, vassal and ally of House Stark"_

Everyone quietened down as they listened to the young lord. Any doubts they had in their minds regarding the boy turned man, they lost them quite a while ago after seeing first-hand the development he brought to Northrend which earned him their respect and in some cases little bit of fear too. But if they still had any lingering doubts, they are blasted from this little display. The acceptance of Winter Throne and the accompanied burst of magic had blown the minds of the lords in attendance and one by one, they went forward to renew their oaths of fealty. It took a good portion of an hour to complete the unplanned oaths' ceremony. Many were stunned when they saw a Magnar coming forward to offer his oath of featly as the bloody reply they got a few moons ago is still fresh on their minds but decided to stay silent on the matter for the time being.

Throughout the ceremony, Aiden observed as the lords gave him their fealty. While most of them are quite happy to do it, the Lord of Dreadfort is not among them. Lord Bolton is outright glaring at him whenever he thought Aiden is not looking. ' _Maybe Lord Bolton needs to be met with an unfortunate accident sooner than I thought'_ Aiden thought as the room quietened down to resume their meeting.

"My Lords!" Aiden stood from the Winter Throne, his voice easily carrying across the great hall with little aid from his magic. "I thank you all for coming. I have several things to share with you but first, let us discuss about the progress of the projects we currently have in place and then proceed to other things. Lord Baldwin Byron, how goes the reconstruction of the Moat?"

The balding castellan rose from his place and bowed to Aiden as a show of respect. "It is coming along fine, my lord. It took the engineers at Moat few weeks to understand and adopt your idea of 'lift' to be installed in the central tower. They managed to construct a prototype right before I started for here. I'm sure by the end of this moon they will have at least a working model, if not an actual model ready. The liquid rock you invented for the fusion of stones is a wonder on its own right. They say that they have never seen something like this in their entire life. A wall constructed using liquid rock is five times stronger than any walls or pillars build using normal methods."

"What about the extension project of _'Wolf's Mouth'_ to Moat and the bascule bridge we proposed to be constructed across the Mouth?"

Baldwin's face brightened visible on hearing the question. "We already laid the foundations for the bridge, my Lord. My own son, along with his construction crew is working tirelessly to finish the project in time. The engineers and construction crew captains are singing praises of your design. An engineering marvel comparable to the Great Ice Wall in Northrend and the Titan of Braavos, they are saying. When it is completed, your bridge will be the only one of its kind"

Aiden smiled at the man's enthusiasm. He initially thought of constructing a bridge based on the model of twins but then decided against it. His bridge's design is based on several muggle bridges he saw in his previous life. And the liquid rock the balding castellan is calling is actually concrete he saw the muggles of his previous world used for building. It took a lot of trial and error methods to create cement, which is the main ingredient of the product but he managed to do it using runically enhanced furnaces. This bridge will be free for people to use and shall only be asked to pay fee only during war. Aiden nodded and turned his attention to the next lord.

"Lord Hornwood, I believe the paper mills and printing presses are giving you no trouble" That's right. Aiden invented or we can say reinvented paper and printing press two years ago and with the Hornwoods as partners, he established several paper mills and printing presses with over a dozen printing machines in each press. The Maesters at Citadel are bending over themselves because their offers to buy the printing machines are soundly turned down by Aiden. While he is all for the spreading of knowledge, the maesters wanted complete notes on how to build a printing press and wanted written agreement from them not to build such a machine in the future. So naturally, Aiden showed them the proverbial middle finger and told them to shove their offers in their backs.

Lord Halys smiled broadly at Aiden. When the idea was first proposed by Aiden, he had been very skeptical at first. It is only after seeing the machines at work with his own two eyes and the heavy insistence of his scholarly wife and his maester did he accept the proposal and listening to those two's words turned out to be the best decision he ever made. The paper mill and printing press made the house Hornwood one of the richest houses in Northrend.

"No, my lord, they are working just fine. In fact, we just got a huge order from Qarth and Braavos for both paper and parchment. We are also getting orders from almost all free cities and southern kingdoms for tissue papers" Aiden smirked at the last statement. While Aiden thought introducing paper will be a huge success, he never thought the tissue paper will be such a huge hit. In fact, the tissue paper got such a huge success that, that division alone is amassing half the profits. Plans are currently in discussion to expand the current paper mill or build a new mill altogether.

Aiden nodded his head in satisfaction and turned his attention to the portly man seated next to Halys. A silent communication passed between the young Stark and the master of White Harbour. Aiden gave an almost imperceptible nod and moved his gaze to the small burly man at the other end of the table. "Lord Howland Reed, how goes the reconstruction of Greywater watch?"

Of all the castles and settlements he visited, Greywater Watch is one construction which piqued his interest the most. It is a castle like no other he has ever seen. Seeing it once does not mean you will ever see it again because the castle. . . _moves_. It actually freaking floats on the swamps, constantly moving from one place to another and thus making it impossible for ravens or their enemies to find its exact location. The castle is constructed on four base crannogs, whose base is made of stones which are filled with runic arrays meaning Crannogmen of the old actually know how to use magic. The last time he visited the floating fortress, one of its four base crannog was damaged due to its old age and Aiden offered his assistance to renew the whole thing. It did cost him a pretty penny but having a moving and untraceable castle under his belt is well worth the effort.

The small man bowed with an eager smile on his face. "Excellent, my lord. Those stones you sent us to use as basement for construction of new crannog were most helpful. Although, I must admit, me and my men are a bit curious as to how you came across a quarry of stones which can float on the water" he finished, leaving everyone in the room sans the Stark family curious.

Aiden just gave a mysterious smile and said "All in good time, Lord Reed, all in good time. Let's just say that the Old Gods blessed us to find everything needed for the development of Northrend and leave it at that". The short man readily accepted the answer as the Crannogmen are among the most ardent followers of the Old Gods.

"Lord Ryswell, how goes you quest to find a destrier type steeds which can bear the weather of Northrend?" asked Aiden to the balding old lord.

"I'm afraid we have little to no progress in that matter, my lord. I wish the Old Gods had little more mercy on my house but that is not the case" answered the white bearded man in a sober tone.

Aiden acknowledged the man's answer. He already knew the old Lord is going to say something along those lines. Four years ago he gifted the old man five destrier class stallions and four mares which the southern kingdoms pride themselves on and asked him to produce a breed superior to them. The Ryswells always prided themselves on their horse breeds and took on the challenge but were not able to produce any satisfying results.

"Worry not, Lord Ryswell. It seems the Old Gods have finally decided to answer your prayers" Old Rodrick looked at the young lord, his eyes filled with equal amounts of hope and confusion. Sensing the questioning look, Aiden simply pointed toward a burly haired man and said "This is Thorak Magnar, the eldest son of Lord Magnar of Skagos. He came here to offer his oath of fealty to me and came bearing some gifts. Gifts, one of which you will be having. The legendary and rumored unicorns of Skagos. Lord Magnar will take you to see them after this meeting is over"

Thorak smiled broadly at Aiden and Rodrick while the old Rodrick is frothing at mouth on the prospect of having the rumored unicorns as one of his herds. Once he gets his hand on unicorn, he could produce a world class breed of horses and his house's reputation will skyrocket if that happens. Seeing that the old Lord is in his own little world, Aiden moved on to the next topic on hand.

"My lords, now that we have finished discussing old projects, let us move onto the next agenda of this meeting, namely, the construction of new port cities and towns in Northrend" Excited murmurs are heard between the attending Lords and Ladies.

"Lord Glover and Lord Mormont, step forward" he called out and the two lords almost bounced from their seats. The newly minted Lord Mormont, young Jorah and the elder Lord Galbart Glover stood obtusely in front of him.

"Your houses have been each-others neighbors for as long as I can remember and married into each-others houses. Not to mention your continued support to house Stark. I think it is time I allow you to take it to the next level. The Sea Dragon Point has always been a key strategic point in the events of iron born attacks. Therefore, it is my honor to announce the commencement of a new house, house Morver from the union of your two houses with Sea Dragon Point as its seat of power. Meet me on the morrow to discuss the possible extension of a loan to your houses to construct a port city at Sea Dragon Point"

Both men nodded at the young lord Stark. Even though they knew such an announcement is going to happen, it is a relief to actually listen to its official announcement.

"Now moving onto the next matter" Aiden paused looking at the Lords in front of him "as you no doubt heard about the ongoing talks with various mountain clans to bring them under Northrend's fold" several nods could be seen from the various visiting lords. "It is with great pleasure now I announce that the mountain clan of Wull has been raised to the status of a Noble house of the North for Lord Wull's extraordinary effort to bring all the mountain clans under a single banner. It is also my honor to announce that a marriage contract has been drafted between the houses house Wull and House Umber and also give them my blessing to the commencement of a new house, house Umbull which will specialize in the production of coal from the newly started coal mines"

Everyone stayed silent as they processed what Aiden just said. They knew that in order to bring the mountain clans under the direct control of the Winterfell they need to make some concessions but no one ever expected this to happen but everyone remained silent, not knowing how to contradict it.

Aiden knew he is taking a calculated risk, but a risk nonetheless. The Mormonts and Glovers will not speak against it because they just gained a new house in the same way. The Karstarks and Ryswells also will not talk because they are going to benefit from his next announcements. The Manderlys, Reeds and Flints will not care about it. The Umbers will have no problem because they are the ones directly benefiting from this arrangement. The Hornwoods will not speak up because of his business dealings with their house. Now all he needed to worry about is the Dustins, Boltons and Tallharts.

The Tallharts, he can pacify later with offers to include them in the new business ventures Aiden planned for in the future. The Dustins, he has plans for them too, so no need to worry about them. It is the Boltons, especially Lord Roose Bolton, he is worried about. That man has been silent and glaring at him since the start of the meeting. Aiden knew the pale man is scheming ways to remove Aiden from him position and establish himself there and is waiting for the opportune time. So Aiden need to deal carefully with the descendant of the Red Kings.

"Lord Rodrick Ryswell, Lord Benjen Stark. Step forward" Both the stepped forward. Benjen looked bored while Rodrick looked excited. "Lord Ryswell. Your house has always stayed behind and supported house Stark since the time of my ancestors and I think it is time our houses once again honor the ties our ancestors made in the past. It is my pleasure to announce that I, Aiden Stark, in the position of Head of House Stark give my consent to the marriage between Benjen Stark and Kayla Ryswell on the condition that the marriage should be consummated by the end of this moon"

"I accept" both the lords said at the same time, much to the amusement of other lords.

"Next is the announcement of the union between the house of Karstark and house Magnar of Skagos" Aiden announced, immediately met by loud exclamations of how mad the proposition is. In truth, he had been expecting such a kind of reaction and as such, he let them vent out their frustration for a time.

Aiden banged his considerable sized fist on the table making the wood creak under the pressure having the effect of silencing the room to near pin-drop silence.

"My Lords, I understand that many of you have certain objections to the union" Aiden started after silencing them. Benjen snorted at the statement but Aiden ignored him in favor of Lord Helman Tallhart who rose from his seat to voice his objection "Lord Stark! This is outrageous. Those Skagos scum killed all your messages, not to mention all my men among those messengers and now you wish to marry one of your loyal vassals to one of those savages?"

"While I can understand your concern, Lord Tallhart ,might I remind you that Lord Karstark has no objection to marry his first born son, Torrhen Karstark to Lord Thorak's younger sister Tylin Magnar and I as the Lord of Great House Stark and your liege lord accepted their proposition. So, it is not your place to question their union" Helman tried to say something but Aiden beat him to it and continued "As for your revenge for the loss of your men, I was getting to it before all of you decided to voice your opinions, in a rather high tone I might add" he said the last sentence with an edge in his voice, indirectly signifying others not to disturb him till he is done talking and the lords did not dare to know what Aiden would do to them if they ignored his orders.

Aiden took a moment to calm himself and cleared his throat before starting "As I was saying before, we all remember the brutal kind of reply we got from the Skagossons on our invitation. But two days ago I was made aware of a situation in Skagos by Lord Thorak, that I'm sure none of you are aware of either"

"According to Lord Thorak, some of the cannibalistic wildling clans took a new religion and is propagating the said religion on Skagos rather forcefully. They are the ones who killed our men. They gave away the customs of Old Gods and embraced this new religion and they call their god as Cold God" A shiver ran through the spines of Lord Umber and Lord Wull on hearing that. They very well remembered what happened two moons ago with the youngest daughter of Lord Umber.

"Tell me we are not trying to negotiate with them, Lord Stark. Because if you are, I don't ca- " Lord Umber is cut-off Aiden saying "Of course not, Lord Umber. How can you even suggest I would do such a despicable thing? I remember very well what the prerequisites of joining that religion is going to be" Aiden said hotly, appalled that one of his most trusted lords can even think he would do such a thing.

"My apologies, then my Lord Stark. I should have stayed my tongue" said the giant of a man.

"Yes, you should have" Aiden replied in the same cold tone, making the already abashed man even more shamed before returning to his seat.

"Now, before anyone tries to interrupt me again" Aiden pointed a cold look at his vassal lords who recoiled even further into their seats to avoid his eyes "The new devotees of this Cold God has almost occupied the island and the end result is our men being brutally butchered. I already sent a few spies of my own to validate the words of Lord Thorak and in any case, I want all of you to gather no less than three hundred men within the next two moons so that we can take care of the Skagos problem once and for all. Does anyone have any objections?"

No one uttered a single word against what is for all intents and purposes a declaration of war. All of them agreed that something must be done to curb the growing influence of the new Cold God.

"Good, now that we have finished that, let us move on to the more and most important stuff we have before us" Everyone cocked an eyebrow at Aiden's statement, except a few who already know what he is going to announce, namely, both his uncles, Lord Cerwyn and Lord Manderly.

As the lords talked among themselves about what the important announcements that are more important than creating of two new houses and a declaration of war, the young Stark Lord took a sip of wine before he stood up to continue.

Aiden braced himself for the coming onslaught before continuing "I propose we open our own bank and a standing army" Before the lords of the Northrend could interrupt him again "I won't lie, my lords. The last fight against the Targaryens and the followed rapid uptake of the development projects cost the Northrend pretty penny. While our businesses have more than quadrupled making our coffers even deeper and are well our way to taking our position as the most powerful kingdom, we are still neither the most powerful nor the wealthiest kingdom out there. As our businesses increased, so did the bandit problem and if left unchecked, investors will be afraid to even land in the Northrend, let alone make any investments in our businesses. Not to mention, the southern kingdoms are slowly turning their eyes on us and if we are ill prepared for them, we will be plunged back several centuries and all our hard work this last past decade will be nothing more than fools effort"

Aiden could see the cog wheels turning in his vassal lords minds. Many nodded their consent while others looked at Aiden in a contemplating manner, where he is going with this. His uncle Ned has been most against the idea, saying that it will stir up unnecessary trouble but Aiden and Benjen double teamed on him by pointing out incident after incident where the Northrend is undermined because they are not powerful enough so he finally relented. The final nail in the coffin came when Aiden pointed out that if the Northrend had a strong army, his grandfather Rickard Stark, father Brandon Stark and his aunt Lyanna Stark would have been alive. After that being said, Ned stopped talking to them for the next two days, saying that it is a low blow to use the deaths of their loved ones to propagate his ideas. Aiden felt bad after hearing his uncle but did not budge on the matter. After a few days, Ned finally came around and came on board with their plan to militarize the Northrend.

"The idea is that, we shall have men to call upon at any time of day for any kind of attack on our lands, be they are bandits, the sistermen or the iron born or in the worst case, a southern army. The Northrend will have at least fifteen thousand men-at-arms including fifteen hundred cavalry on a six months rotational basis so that we will have thirty thousand fully armed and trained men if a war against any other kingdoms or free cities ever arises"

"Yes, I can see the benefit of having men on a six months rotational basis. In that way, we will not have inadequacy of men during harvest time. Yes, that is a most brilliant idea, Lord Stark. It seems you have given this a lot of thought" quipped Lord Hornwood. Aiden simply nodded at the lord and continued to inspect his lords for any wanderers from the idea.

"Lord Stark" Lord Tallhart finally broke the other lords' musings. "While the idea of having a standing army has merit in my books since we have both the men and resources to do so now, I find myself skeptical of the idea of having our own bank. I apologize for saying this out loud but the southern kingdoms, Westerlands and the Reach are both more powerful and wealthy than us and they still don't have their own bank. Granted, the Lannisters tried to open a bank but we knew how that took off"

Of course, Aiden very well knew what happened. The iron bank did not take lightly to the competition and almost bankrupted the Lannisters by calling in all their debts and the debts of their allies, all at once. It is only through the connections the Lannisters made throughout their existence and the rapid mining of gold from their gold mines saved their skin. And his vassal lords are afraid the same could happen to them and Aiden could not blame them for their fear, for Aiden too knew that if any slight problems on their part and it would mean the wrath of the iron bank and Aiden knew they are not yet ready to take on the might of iron bank.

Aiden simply smiled at the middle aged lord before continuing "I can fully understand why you would think something like that may happen to us, Lord Tallhart. But what I have in mind is a complete new concept in its own right"

"You see, I do not wish to open bank so that all the lords, high and low and merchants can take loans from our bank. While anyone can open an account at our bank and save their money in our vaults, there will be a maximum limit for which people can take loans. For an individual person, the range will be between fifty-two thousand golden dragons. For a business purposes, the loan will be in range of five hundred to five thousand golden dragons, depending on the scale of business and on the collateral said person can provide to the bank. There are other types of loans we plan on providing but they will come at a later date, after we are established firmly on our grounds. And I'm sure the different types of saving schemes we planned to provide our customers will have them rolling in front of our bank begging us to open an account in our bank. This bank is solely aimed at targeting the small folk and lower and upper middle class families which is why we decided to call it as _'Small Bank'"_

"Not that I doubt your intentions or statements, Lord Stark" Roose Bolton rasped out from his seat, leaning forward on to the table. "But what makes you certain that the iron bank will not take it as a slight against them and try to destroy the bank and anyone associated with it?"

Sirius bared his teeth at the pale lord and snarled at him, making the already pale man even paler. Aiden smirked at the pale lord who finally decided to join the discussion. "They will not interfere with our business, Lord Bolton, because if they wanted to, they would have done it already".

Several lords looked confused on the statement so Aiden decided to clarify them "The _'Small Bank'_ is already started three moons ago in the port city of White Harbour under the supervision of Lord Manderly. Of course it is the experimental branch to see if the idea is feasible or not. And to simply put it, the results are spectacular. We already gained a quarter of our investment and Lord Manderly predicts we will start seeing profits within the next six moons or so. Moreover, where do you think we got the accountants for our bank?"

The Northern lords' eyes widened at that implied. Some tried to get a word out of their mouth but succeeded in only stuttering incoherent words. Roose Bolton recovered quickly from his the shock and asked in a disbelieving tone "Do you mean to say that you got permission from the iron bank to open a bank here?"

Aiden gave a shit eating grin to the present lords and said "I mean to say that I managed to broker a deal with the representatives of iron bank with the Sea Lord of Braavos as middle man so that the iron bank will not try to sabotage our bank or any of our other businesses. As a gesture of good faith, they even agreed to send some of their own accountants from their bank to work for us. In return, we stick by our rules and do not increase the loan limit without informing them and of course give the Braavosi merchants preference while doing business"

Benjen smirked at the stunned faces of the lords. When Aiden proposed to go the iron bank to get permission so that they won't cause harm to their businesses, Benjen vehemently opposed the idea. It took Aiden, Ned and Lord Wyman combined to finally convince the youngest of Stark uncles to agree with the idea.

"I will allow Lord Manderly to present us all with a complete structure and targeted working of our ' _Small Bank'"_ Aiden concluded before sitting back on his throne and running his hands through the black fur of his dire wolf Sirius _._

The portly man rose from his seat and bowed to the lords present before diving into the ins and outs of the banking system Aiden planned on introducing to the Northrend. It took him well over an hour to explain the banking structure and the various loaning, deposit and saving schemes they thought to introduce through the new bank and how they are going to advertise their new bank. To summarize his speech, the _'Small Bank'_ will be governed by a board of directors. There are going to be eight boards of directors of which three are permanent, namely the Starks, the Manderlys and the Selwyns. One seat will be given to a person recommended by iron bank. The remaining four seats will be elected by a majority vote by previous seat holders including the permanent members for a time period of five years.

"And that is all there is to know about the _'Small Bank'_. Does anyone have any more doubts? If so, please ask now since we have to elect the rest of the board of directors" said the fat lord of White Harbour, taking a sip of water to relax his throat from such a lengthy speech. All the lords looked to be deep in thoughts as they rewind the words of Wyman Manderly.

Roose Bolton may hate the young Stark to his guts but even he can see the development he brought to the North. ' _That's right, the Red Kings will not use ridiculous names such as Northrend. To them the North is the North and no other'_ thought the flaying practitioner. But that doesn't mean he could not see the benefits of his projects, especially the banking project they are just informed about. If the words of the young lord and the portly lord are to be believed, then this banking system will change the very face of the Northern economy.

Roose could not even fathom how the young lord got such new and wild ideas. Loans for new business, he can understand. Housing loans? Fixed deposits? Long distance traveling loans? Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) for new houses, businesses, boats and other businesses related equipment? How the hell does a wet behind ears ten and five name days old boy get such simple yet brilliant ideas? After listening to Lord Manderly of the way they are going to run the bank, the pale lord decided that no matter what, he got to get a seat on the board of governors to represent the house of Bolton to dictate how the bank works. But before that, he needed to know how the election process is going to occur and so he asked them.

"Glad you asked that, Lord Bolton" Aiden answered, rising from his throne. "Since we are just established and need to expand our bank throughout the Northrend, we are going to need investments. Since we have no previous governors on board, we will auction the temporary seats for the time period of eight years. These temporary members will be getting a share of two per cent from the profits. But note that this provision is being provided only for this time. After eight years, new members will be elected only for a period of five years and will not be getting any share from the profits made by the bank"

Everyone nodded their consent to the terms. To them, the terms are more than fair enough. Everyone will be getting a chance at trying for the seat. Aiden looked around the room and he could already see several of the lords talking among themselves, likely to form alliances to support each other. He could already say a few names on the top of his head who will be sitting with him on the board. Lord Roose Bolton for one will no doubt be getting on the board of directors. He could see the greed as well as the firm determination in his eyes to have the say of Red Kings in the workings of the _'Small Bank'_. Another lord he could say will be joining them is Lord Hornwood cause he is currently the third richest lord among them only after the Starks and Manderlys, thanks to his paper and printing presses. Another lord that will be joining them will probably be Lord Karstark or Lord Umber but he is not sure about it. The last one will be a real wild card.

Aiden signaled Lord Manderly to start the auction and sat in the background as the auction underwent. True to his guess, Roose Bolton, Halys Hornwood and Rickard Karstark managed to acquire one position each as board of governors and most surprisingly, Lord Howland Reed managed to snag the last seat. If his guess is correct, Howland must have must have managed to acquire the support of the Flints and Tallharts in the last minute if the discussions between them are any indication.

Aiden congratulated the newly elected directors and so that year's harvest feast came to an end.

* * *

 **So, that is your new chapter. How do you like it? Please Read and Review.**

 **And before anyone ask, Alys Karstark is not Daphne reincarnate. As the pole suggested, she will be reincarnated as Daenerys Targaryen and no one else. Also this is not going to be a harem story. While Aiden will have one night stands every now and then, he will not grow attached to them or will they play a major role in his life. I'm planning to build Aiden's character through a series of events which are going to happen in the upcoming chapters.**


	7. New People, New Connections

**The King who Conquered**

 **F/N:** **Hey there folks. Here is another chapter. And sorry for the late update. Work pressure at my new job is unbelievable but I managed to squeeze time here and there. Now enjoy the story.**

 **This chapter is not beta read yet.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : New People, New Connections**

Aiden sat in his study looking through the reports of various projects going on in the North. The fruits of his labor are slowly showing up as revenue from _'Wolf's Mouth'_ and White Harbour are more than doubled in the last year itself. The North, especially Winter Town is having trade boom ever since the development of paved paths. While they are not at the level of Reach or Westerlands, merchants are flocking to the North to get products for relatively cheaper prices. The only problem is that the North currently does not have that many varied and exquisite goods to sell. Even with new crops introduced by Aiden, it will take at least another four or five years before they can even give a competition to the southern kingdoms.

' _Small Bank'_ is still in its infancy. People are still doubtful of its purpose but are curious about it. So far they managed to open one hundred and thirteen savings accounts from several minor lords, chieftains of towns and villages and relatively well-off individuals and sixty three business accounts from merchants doing business in and around the North. The idea of house loans is still a new and foreign concept to the small folk. Aiden is brainstorming with the bankers and other major lords of the North on how to familiarize people with the idea of taking personal gave business loans of around thirteen thousand golden dragons till now. Aiden is thinking of passing a law making a bank account mandatory for merchants to do trade with the North. But that will need to be discussed with other lords before he could make a decision.

As the trade is increased, the number of spying attempts and bandit problems have also increased subsequently. Bandit problem is solved or at least controlled by Aiden forming a new squad of soldiers namely _'Blue Rangers'_ dedicated solely for the safety of highways and merchant caravans in the North. That being said, the spies became a real menace for him. Although he is fairly sure that he managed to catch all the spies before they could leak any useful information, their attempts on his life increased, causing worry to the young wolf. Why, in the last three years there have been as many as fifty seven infiltration attempts on the new industries under the direct control of the Starks and their vassal lords and seventeen murder attempts on Aiden when he is touring around the North.

However, the last spy caught the attention of Aiden. The thief somehow managed to circumvent the wards he placed around the printing presses and got his hands on the blueprints of printing press and ingredients and procedure for paper production. Fortunately, the spy did not expect the wards placed on the inside of the vault containing blueprints and that alerted Aiden.

He immediately apparated to spot and caught the thief in action but before he could interrogate him, the thief uttered a single word, which Aiden later confirmed to be a spell, and his body is completely burned by fire. On further examining the thief's body and the fire the thief used, Aiden concluded one thing. That the thief is a magical user just like him, probably hailing from Asshai or the infamous warlocks of Quarth. But he is sure of one thing. There are other magical users in this world, granted, they are not as powerful as him, but present nonetheless. And that got him to thinking on how to approach these magical users and recruit them to his cause.

He is interrupted by a knock on the door. A very nervous looking Wilas Manderly, firstborn son of Lord Manderly entered the room. He seemed to be hesitating about something for some reason.

"Lord Wilas? I thought we agreed to meet at White Harbour after gathering required men for our invasion of Skagos? What are you doing here?" Aiden enquired

"Apologies, my lord. But I've an. . . . interesting person…. for you to meet. And she is most insistent on meeting you" Wilas replied nervously.

Aiden studied the man in front of him carefully for a few moments. The subtle twitching of his body, the slightly dilated pupils of his eyes clearly shows that he's seen something which made him nervous and that got Aiden interested.

"Alright, Wilas. When shall we go meet her? If you are here and want me to meet her, then I believe she is in Winterfell or Winter Town perhaps?"

"Actually my lord, she is just outside the door. She-" Just then the door opened, revealing a hooded woman in brown cloak completely covering her body.

"Greetings, Lord Aiden of House Stark. Thank you for agreeing to speak with me" the hooded woman spoke.

The moment the woman entered his room, Aiden could feel the familiar feeling of magic flooding his senses. Whoever this woman is, she clearly does not know how to conceal her magical aura. That or she is purposely radiating her aura in front of him. Aiden eyed the woman distrusting because the memory of the last magicals' attempt to spy and steal from him is still fresh in his mind. He gave Wilas a questioning look to which he simply shrugged and said "Told you she is most insistent on meeting you, my lord"

Aiden rose from his seat to greet the woman. "Welcome to Winterfell, my lady. You know my name but I'm at a disadvantage"

"My apologies to you, your grace. My name is Katherine Abara. I'm sent here on behalf of my family to discuss some. . ." she glanced toward Wilas "unique matters with you"

Aiden immediately understood what those unique matters she wished to speak about. "That will be all, Lord Wilas. Thank you for bringing her to me". Wilas looked surprised by the sudden dismissal but complied with his lord's orders nonetheless and left the room.

As soon as Wilas loft the room, all signs of casual calmness are gone from Aiden's face and are replaced by seriousness. Seeing the serious look on the face of Lord of Winterfell, Katherine slowly lowered her hood to reveal her face. She looked to be in her early to mid-twenties. She has long brown hair with hazel brown eyes and high cheek bones.

"I know I gave a short notice but I once again thank you for agreeing to meet me, your grace" she started slowly, careful not to offend the man in front of her. While to normal people the man in front of her may look like normal man, she knew better. She could feel the magical power he kept suppressed just beneath his skin, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice and if she is not careful in conveying her family's message, she and her family could be in some serious trouble.

"You apology is accepted, my lady. Take a seat. Shall I order any refreshments?" Aiden offered

Katherine graciously accepted the offered seat and declined any refreshments. "Good then. I believe you said you have some unique maters to discuss with me"

"Of course, your grace. I-" Aiden cut her off saying "I'm no king, Lady Katherine. Not even official Warden of the North. I'm only the head of Great House Stark. So a simple 'my lord' will suffice"

Katherine shook her head in negative. "Magic has already marked you as a King, your grace and whether you accept it or not is up to you. But we accept you as our King and shall address you as such"

Aiden narrowed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. He already knew that one day, war will be broken out between the seven kingdoms if his uncle Robert continued to rule the same way as he is now. According to his informants in Kings Landing, the crown is already six million dragons in debt to the Iron Bank, three and half million dragons in debt to the Lannisters, half a million to the faith citadel of seven and another half a million to the various merchant groups doing trade with Kings Landing. And the way he saw it, he could only see the Iron Throne drowning in more debts in the near future. But even then, he could not see how he would be becoming a King. Even if, by some miracle, Robert is dead, he has a son and two brothers who would be in line for the throne. The only way he could be called a king is, if he declared himself Winter King and the North as an independent kingdom. But he would never do that seeing as doing that would be seen a treachery to his family from his mother's side and if there is one thing Aiden loathes more than anything, it is people who betray their own families.

Aiden pushed all those thoughts aside and finally got to a decision and decided to indulge the lady for the time being. "I will indulge you for the time being, Lady Katherine. What more does you magic say about me?" Aiden said in a slight mocking tone.

Katherine narrowed her eyes at Aiden "Mocking me when you know I am telling the truth is beneath you station, you grace. You and I both know that magic is real. Or how do you explain the wards you placed in and around the Winterfell castle and all your factories or the fact that your own cousin is capable of warging?"

A knife immediately made its way to the brown haired lady in front of Aiden and stopped just before her throat and remained floating in that position. "How long have you been spying on me and my household? I will be very careful with my next words if I were you"

After Aiden learned of the true history of the Starks from the tomes he found in the Throne room in the crypts, he called both his uncles and shared this information. Benjen looked excited at the prospect of his children capable of doing magic but Ned hesitated a bit. After studying the tomes carefully himself, he momentarily gave his permission to test his children for magical abilities. Aiden tested Robb and Jon and was disappointed that they could not do any actual magic but later they found that Robb could do warging when he accidentally warged into a guard dog. Since then, Aiden has been looking for a direwolf cub for Robb to practise.

Katherine gulped nervously at the sudden change in the demeanour of the previously calm man and a bead of sweat rolled from her forehead to the side of her face. She very slowly moved her hand and touched the blade handing in front of her throat and moved it away from her. "I apologize if I struck a nerve, your grace. I swear on my life that I mean no harm to you or your household. But I saw no other option as you seemed to be intent on beating around the bush and this is very important for my family"

Aiden took some shallow breaths to calm his raging nerves and motioned for her to continue. "I can help you in training your cousin and any such others you find. I know as well as you do that these children need to be carefully nurtured for their own safety as well as for the safety of those around them. My family is very old and have been around the time the dragons still roamed the skies of Old Valyria and the wizards of Chroyane still performed wonders with their water magic. We have experience in dealing with children like your cousin" she offered

Aiden mulled over her statements. Truth be told, ever since he discovered that this world is full of squibs or mundanes as he calls them, instead of complete non-magicals (muggles), he knew it is only a matter of time before he find others just like him and the very thought both excited and dreaded him at the same time. Excited because he will have people with whom he can relate to and help him in eradicating the ancient evil that he is supposed to eliminate. Dreaded because he knew first-hand the prejudice the mundanes held over anything remotely resembling magic. And while he managed to alleviate some of that in the North, he still had a long way to go before people can accept magic as a whole. But since this world has mundanes who can at the very least understand and feel magic in their bones, maybe he can build a better world for both the magicals and mundanes to live in.

"You said something about my decision being important for your family. Care to elaborate?" Aiden asked, ignoring Katherine's offer.

If Aiden ignoring her offer bothered the witch, she did not show it and instead answered with a smile "As I mentioned earlier, my family is an ancient one. But the magical powers stopped manifesting in my family after _'The_ _Doom_ ' happened" Katherine paused before continuing "That is, until you are born. Your birth paved path to the revival of magic in this world again. Thirteen days before you were born, my niece, Kara Abara gave a prophecy.

' _The Wolf who is not a wolf will revive magic,_

 _and will search out for the dragon who is not a dragon_

 _Together they will end the dead which is not dead_

 _and lead the world to a new era'_

Aiden cursed his luck as he seemed to be dragged into yet another prophecy. The Wolf part he is pretty sure is about him. He is not of this world yet at the same time he is born in this world. But the dragon part befuddled him. Who is this dragon who is not a dragon? Is this person just like him? A dimensional traveller? Or does this mean some other thing? Dead which is not dead? Who is this? Is this the ancient evil death told him about? And what does it mean they will together usher this world into a new age? Does that mean they both have to marry each other? He is already betrothed to Alys and is set to marry her once she reaches of age. Now does this mean that their marriage will be cancelled? Or will anything happen to Alys?

Aiden immediately cut off that line of thought. It does no one any good to mull over something one has no control over. So, for the time being, Aiden decided to fake ignorance and let the scene roll itself over.

He leans forward on his table and steeples his fingers "And you think this Wolf who is not a wolf is me?"

"We do not know but we certainly hope it is you" Katherine answered

"Hmm... What about this other person? The dragon who is not a dragon? Any idea who that person is?"

"No, your grace. But we think it might be one of the last Targaryens"

Aiden suddenly burst out laughing. It took him a few minutes to subdue his laughter. "My apologies, but I very much doubt that I will work together with Viserys Targaryen. According to the reports, he is nothing but an arrogant little bastard who thinks everything should be handed over to him just because he is the last Targaryen. He doesn't know when to shut his mouth and is already kicked out of several magisters and nobles houses. And his sister, Daenerys Targaryen is a meek little girl who cannot say anything against her brother even her life depended on it. People in free cities are already calling them the 'Beggar King and Queen'"

"While I cannot dispute your report of the last male Targaryen, the same cannot be said about the last lady dragon" Katherine supplied her own input.

Seeing Aiden cocking an eye brow in questioning manner, Katherine continued "Last I heard, Viserys with the help of magister Illyrio Mopatis tried to arrange a marriage between his sister and leader of a Dothraki horde known as Khal Drogo. But the little princesses managed to escape a day before wedding. Since then, she just disappeared. That made the dothraki very angry and are actively searching for the last Targaryens"

Aiden thought over the new information. It has been eight moons he last got any real information about the last Targaryens. So it can be true. But that doesn't matter at the moment "And you think this dragon who is not a dragon is her?

Katherine again shook her head in negative "Again, you grace we do not know. We are not even certain if she is even alive at this point"

"Good. Because that is a very vague prophecy and there are several ways to interpret it. I have no interest in being a part of someone's fucked up interpretation of a stupid prophecy" Aiden said intensely.

Katherine was taken aback by the intense with which he said those words. Maybe there is something here she is not seeing but that is not what she is here for. So she just accepted his words for the time being and simply nodded.

"So, before we were side tracked by the prophecy, you were saying?" Aiden restarted their discussion.

"Before you were born, we certainly knew our heritage but only one or two children in every two or three generations in our family exhibited any talent for magic. But that changed after you were born. Now almost every child born in the last five and ten years are exhibiting magical talents. And we are saying after your birth because we all and I'm sure most of the magical folk alive felt it; the wave of magic which originated from Westeros. While we were the first ones to locate you, I'm sure given more time, other's will also locate you and either try to make you their ally or try to subdue you or if that is not possible, kill you even"

Aiden cursed his luck as he heard Katherine described the events surrounding his birth. Now every magical in the world will be after him or his family. 'So much for keeping my magical ability a secret' Aiden thought ruefully. "I've already had an encounter with one such person. He tried to infiltrate and robe our blue prints of printing presses and ingredients and procedure of paper making. I stopped him and he committed suicide by incinerating himself" Aiden supplied him experience

Katherine's eyes widened at Aiden's admission "If that is the case, then it is even more imperative that we help each other, your grace. My family is scattered all across the free cities of Volantis, Pentos, Norvos, Myr, Tyrosh and Lys. We have to hurry and secure the North before other magicals find you"

Aiden's both eyebrows vanished into his hairline as the lady in front of him iterated her family's expansion. "How large is this family of yours we are talking about?" Aiden asked incredulously.

"Two hundred and thirty seven, your grace"

Aiden laughed at Katherine as she said the number but seeing the serious look on her face, he stopped. "You are serious, aren't you?"

"I am not known to joke regarding the matters of family. So yes, I am serious" Katherine replied in monotone.

Aiden straightened up in his seat "How am I supposed to provide asylum for two hundred and thirty seven people? Even though the Northerners love me, hiding so many people will definitely be difficult, even for me"

"You misunderstand me, your grace. We do not need asylum for all of us. Like I said earlier, our younger generation needs to be trained. We are doing what we can but people are beginning to notice. We already lost one of our children to the shadow binders of Asshai and another one to the warlocks of Qarth. My people are devastated as it is and we cannot lose another one. I want you to provide a safe place for our children here in the North. The rest of us will immigrate to the North over the next three to four moons. I heard that you have several projects in progress and several more yet to begin. Because of that, there are many who are immigrating to the North to find a new life. We can use that to settle here and mingle with people. Amongst my family, we have several experienced workers in glass and textile industries in Myr, several spice merchants and others experienced in carpentry, masonry, ship building. All these people can bring with them several others and you can use their expertise in helping make the North a better place to live"

Aiden sat there stumped as she listed the various professions of her family members. While on the outside Aiden kept an impassive face, inside is a completely different matter. While Aiden could conjure glass, he cannot do that in an industrial scale and unlike cement where he just drew some runes in furnace, threw in materials and waited till cement is made and teach others to do the same, glass making requires precise hands and technique which Aiden lacks. So he tried several times to get someone from the glass makers of Myr to work for him and every time he thought he got someone, they died of one reason or other. He always suspected that some sort of sorcery is involved but could never get a solid proof. Now if he could get Katherine's family members to start a glass making company and textiles industry in North, it will boost the economy of North indefinitely.

"You will also be interested in noting that we have some people in sell sword companies of 'Wolf Pack' and 'Company of Rose'"

Aiden cocked an eyebrow at Katherine "I already have several trained men and several more in the process of training. So I will not be needing them specifically. But they are free to join the North's army in any capacity they wish to" Aiden said, simply shrugging his shoulder.

"You do not know?" Katherine questioned

Aiden tilted his head and his face scrunched in confusion "I do not know what?"

"You need to pay more attention to your own history, your grace. 'The Company of Rose' and 'Wolf Pack' are formed and is still to this day maintained by the Northmen or at least, the descendants of the North. 'The Company of Rose' is formed by the Northerners who rejected Torrhen Stark's submission to Aegon the Conqueror and thus choose exile over bending the knee. And the 'Wolf Pack' is formed in the aftermath of ' _Dance of Dragons'_ and collapse of ' _Triarchy_ ' or _'King of Three Daughters'_ by Hallis Hornwood and Timothy Snow. And now, both these sell sword companies are being led by the direct descendants of your ancestors. In short, if you play your cards right, you can have these sell sword companies under your thumb" Katherine said with a Cheshire cat grin.

Aiden went into deep thought as he thought of the implications of Northerner's presence in Essos. If he moved his pieces correct, he can have his trade post in free cities with little to no hassle. But first he will need to get in touch with these sell sword companies and gauge their reactions for the possibility of working for him in future. But that is then and this is now. So, he decided to ponder on the matter at a later date and think on the present matter at hand.

"Thank you for that information. I will speak to my…. contacts in Essos. I will leave them be for the time being and contact them when the time is right. Now let return to the matter in hand; you and your family"

Katherine nodded "If your grace accepts my proposal, then my house will serve yours so long as you can keep your word"

"Can you give me some time to go over our conversation and give you my decision? You can stay in the castle or in Winter Town in the meantime" Aiden offered

Katherine nodded her head slowly "That is agreeable, your grace. If it is not too much, I would like to stay in castle and explore the Godswood"

Aiden rose from his seat and offered her a hand "Excellent. And of course you can explore to your hearts content. We will meet same time tomorrow". Katherine shook Aiden's hand and excused herself out of the room.

 **Next morning:**

Yesterday after Katherine left Aiden thought hard about his conversation with her. In truth, he never thought he would be in such a position. While he knew that him being the Lord of Great house means that he would be asked to give asylum for others and do some things as favors, he never thought he would be encountered with such a situation.

The situation itself is not such a complicated one. It is the abilities of the people who he is being asked to provide shelter for and that got him to think and rethink a possible solution. If they were normal people, he would have welcomed them with open arms and warm hearts. But here he is dealing with people with the same abilities as him. One part of him is happy that he can relate with them. But the other part of him is cautions of them because he first hand knew what people with his abilities are capable of.

He is brought out of his dwellings with a knock on his door. Aiden gestured Katherine to a seat "I've gone over our conversation yesterday and reached a decision" Aiden started slowly

Katherine moved to the edge of her seat, anxious of Aiden's decision. His decision will either make or break her family. While she herself can certainly protect the members of her family, she certainly cannot protect all of her them.

"I have decided to provide protection for the children of your house. In fact, I will personally draw runic schema for the protective wards that will be placed in and around the place which will house your children and train them whenever I can. And I will also welcome any and all of your people to work under me and provide investments if they are willing to start businesses. And if you prove that you are worthy of it, I will elevate the position of your house to the status of Masterly house, maybe even to Noble".

Katherine bowed to Aiden in gratitude "That is most generous of you, your grace. I prom-"

Aiden held up a hand for Katherine to stop "I am willing to provide all these facilities to your people provided they are willing to swear their oaths of loyalty to me and my descendants"

"Of course, your grace. You will have our oaths of fealty as soon as my people reach the North" Katherine answered.

Aiden narrowed his eyes. "For the normal people words may be enough, but I will need more than that from you, Lady Katherine"

Katherine already knew where this is going but asked anyway. "And what will you be needing, your grace?" she asked slowly.

Aiden unsheathed his family ancestral sword _._ "This is the ancestral sword of House Stark held by the head of the house. ' _Ice',_ we call it. I'm willing to swear on my magic and honor of my being a Stark that I will protect you and your wards so long as your head of house and his descendants are ready to return the favor"

Katherine stared hard at Aiden, looking for any signs of betrayal because what Aiden asking of her very huge. He is basically asking her to make her people his and his descendants life-long servants. While people may have several different position under a lord or a king, those are all fanciful ways of being servant to their lord or king and what he is asking here is doing so magically. If anyone of her people abandoned their oath to house Stark then they will be cursed. But given the position of house Abara, they have no other choice. And it's not like their new master is asking for a one sided oath.

Taking a deep breath Katherine procured twin Sais from her sleeves and placed on Stark's ancestral sword. "These are valerian Sais. We call them _'Issa'._ They have been in my family for as long as I can remember and are held by the head of house"

Aiden nodded in understanding. Katherine then placed both the weapons at Aiden's feet and in a kneeling position gave him her oath of fealty. He then placed his sword on her shoulder and accepted her oath and gave her the return oath. As Aiden finished, a bright light covered the room, signifying the witness of the oath by magic.

* * *

"Come on pretty eyes. Beat the shit out of the bastard" shouted a ten and five name days old girl from the side lines of one of the training grounds in Winterfell.

"Damit Alys. I do not have pretty eyes. Stop calling me that" gritted Aiden from the middle of his spar with the Jojen Abara, newly appointed personal guard of Aiden.

"Sure you do, pretty eyes. Now stop talking and start beating the shit out of him"

"Alys Karstark! The others take you! A lady should never use such foul language" screeched an auburn haired girl beside her.

Alys scowled on hearing the voice and turned to her. "Sod off Sansa. I'm not in a mood for you right now"

Before the two drove swords into each other's guts, more like Alys doing it for Sansa, Jon interfered "What did he do to you anyway, Alys? I doubt any personal guard of Aiden will purposefully get on your red ledger" he asked, gesturing to the sparring ground.

Alys simply shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing really. I made a wager with one of the guards that Aiden will break at least a bone of his opponent before the end of the spar. The more I rile up, the more my chances of winning"

Seeing everyone giving her incredulous looks, she said "What? He said the new guard is more skilled than Aiden in combat because he is a former sell sword. I'm just protecting my betrothed's honor"

"By placing a wager on him?" Jon deadpanned

Seeing her shrug her shoulder non-committedly, Jon just shook his head. The guards posted there chuckled but Sansa got a bit green in her face "You are sick, Alys" she declared.

Alys just glared her cousin and huffed "Just because you daydream that a knight in shining armor will come to rescue doesn't mean that your fantasy is real" Honestly, how much more naïve can a girl become. Ever since her father agreed to have her foster at Winterfell to allow her to know her betrothed better in exchange for Ned Stark's eldest son Robb Stark to be fostered at Karhold, she had to endure Sansa's constant looking down on her. She honestly could not under why the auburn haired girl thinks that she is better than her.

As the two girls are having a verbal spar on the side lines, Aiden parried the sword aimed at his gut, then feinted left but ducked under and brought his practice sword slashed upward and struck hard on his opponents' hand. His opponent's sword flew from his hand from the hit and Aiden finished the sparring by kicking the man hard in his gut and swiping under his legs. He then pointed his sword at his opponent's throat.

"YIELD" Aiden bellowed, still from the high from the intense sparring session.

"Aye, I Yield, I Yield" said the downed man. Aiden offered the man a hand and lifted him up and patted him on his shoulder. "Great sparring session. I look forward to our next one"

"Me too, my lord" replied the man. He winced as he tried to move his bruised elbow "Although, it will be some time before I can get into sparring ring with you again"

Aiden chuckled at the man he just defeated "Go to Lady Katherine and ask her to give you the special healing salve I created. You should be up and running in no time"

"You could have broken a bone or two of him before beating him down ya know" came a voice behind him. He turned around, only to come across a pouting Alys Karstark. Aiden shook his head exasperated at her. "How many times I have to tell you, Alys that I do not break bones. Especially not the bones of one of my personal guards"

"I know, I know. But still, even a little finger would have been sufficed"

"Alys…." Aiden drawled out in a warning tone.

"Sheesh….Aiden. You are no fun at all" She looked up at his face with concern etched in her eyes. "You've been closing off more and more lately. What happened, Aiden?" she asked

"War tends to do that to people, Lady Alys" answered a new voice. Both youngsters twirled on their foot to come across an old man who looked to be in his early seventy's.

Aiden narrowed his eyes in suspicion. He could feel the magic rolling off of this man and yet he did not feel the man approach him just like he could not do with Katherine. "Greetings, my lord. This is my grandfather Lawson Abara, a glass maker from Myr" introduced Katherine from beside him.

"Greeting, Lady Katherine. And welcome Lawson Abara, to the North and Winterfell. I thought it will take another moon or two before your family members from Myr can escape from the glass makers" Aiden asked, surprise sprinkling in his tone

"You are right, your grace. But we were presented an opportunity and seized it to our own" the old man answered. Seeing the inquisitive look on Aiden's face, the old man continued to elaborate "The merchant prince we are working under wanted to sell his glass making business to settle his debts. I immediately informed Katherine here. She arranged a fake business deal and bought us from him. Suffice to say our plan went flawless and here we are"

"I thought that glass makers in Myr are forbidden to sell their businesses to outsiders. And I doubt that even Lady Katherine can establish herself as a Myr merchant in such a short deal of time" Aiden sounded his doubt.

"You are right about him, Katherine. He is a rather clever one and do not take everything at face value and do not trust anyone easily" the old man said to the young witch. Aiden looked at the old man unabashed but a pleasant smile made its way on his lips before disappearing.

"I can only hope that you can come to trust me in the future, young Stark. And you would be correct. But the merchant prince is so desperate that a few hundred extra gold coins and agreement to not extend our new business to outside Myr made him agree to the deal. But even then, the other glass makers did not like a new player and set our workshop on fire. Now everyone in Myr thinks that all the workers died in the workshop, providing us the perfect opportunity to escape unnoticed"

A grin made his way on Aiden's face. "That is rather Slytherin of you, Lawson Abara"

"I'm sorry but what this…Slytherin, your grace?" Lawson asked, confusion portraying in his face.

Aiden face palmed lightly and shook his head. These days, his vocabulary from his old life is making it's appearance in his speeches more and more. "Never mind about that. You and your people are welcome to stay in the western wing of castle just beside the Godswood till I can find you a permanent residence. That part of castle and Godswood is restricted for commoners. I will post my most loyal guards there. You and your family will be safe from prying eyes when you train your children. Unfortunately, I will be leaving for Skagos invasion on the morrow. We will discuss about our arrangement after I return from the invasion. And please do not address me as 'your grace' when we are outside and in company of others"

"As you wish, my lord. I will pray for your swift victory" the old man said.

"Is that what you meant" Alys asked, garnering everyone's attention on her. "When you said 'War tends to do that to people', were you talking about the Skagosi invasion?"

Lawson looked at the young girl with an intense gaze and took a deep breath "I can sense a war looming over our heads, young lady. Whether it is this Skagosi invasion or another full scaled war, I do not know. But I do know that this war will change the very way we are living our lives"

Alys scrunched her eyebrows in deep thought. "How do you know that? Are you a seer or something?"

"When you are alive as long as I am, you tend to start noticing things which will most probably keep you alive" Lawson answered mysteriously. He resolved to ask his seer of a grandniece about this feeling he is getting as soon as she reached Winterfell. Last he heard about her, she mounted a ship from Volantis to the North and will be here in another two moons.

Aiden furrowed his forehead, going over those words over and over in his head. Is something going to happen during the Skagos invasion? If so, then he might need to unleash his powers well before he planned to do so. His initial plan was to slowly introduce the Lords of the North to the idea of him having powers. And when he is sure that the North is in a stable condition and free from the threats of southern kingdoms, he planned to venture into the lands beyond the great wall to investigate about the ancient evil he is supposed to face in future.

 **White Harbour (Ten days later)**

The bustling sounds of men shouting orders and screeching sounds of cartwheels moving goods to and fro from the anchored ships to harbor's warehouse or merchant's waiting wagons could be heard from the bustling and boisterous city of White Harbour.

The city got its name from the whitewashed stone which is used to build the buildings in the city. Even before the city's re-planned architecture by Aiden, White Harbour is a clean and well-ordered city with relatively wide cobbled streets.

Even though Winter Town developed to be as large as White harbour, to the southern kingdoms, White Harbour is the only city in the North. The reason for this is two-fold. One is because Aiden made sure no one except people he trusted knew the true size and population of the city. The other one being, the southerners unwillingness to accept that the North is capable of building another city without their help. Their unwillingness and ignorance helped Aiden in concealing the true strength of the North.

The port of White Harbor is divided into two parts. The smaller inner harbor provides better anchorage and movement of goods while the larger outer harbor can hold around a fifty ships before the reconstruction. Now, with the opening of ' _Wolf's Mouth'_ and keeping in view of future demand, the outer port is extended to around six miles on both sides with five distinct port areas, each one with a capacity to hold twenty vessels at a time. Three distribution areas are also under construction to facilitate the needs of the hinterland. Plans to construct a huge crane for each port area for easy movement of goods are under consideration but that is yet to get beyond the stage of drawing board.

* * *

A lone figure could be seen standing on the outer edge of the ringfort sitting on a massive stone dominating the approaches to the Outer Harbor with another not so small four legged figure perched at the legs of the lone figure. Another partly figure could be seen approaching the lone figure with a slight huff in his breathing.

"My lord Stark, the last of the Crannogmen and Flints of Flint's finger have arrived. The captains are almost finished with loading the ships. We can set out to Skagos the moment you give us orders" reported the partly figure, who is recognized as Wyman Manderly, Lord of New Castle(castle in White Harbor) and its surrounding lands. Aiden said nothing but simply continued staring at the sea in the direction of Skagos.

Wyman hesitated before continuing, "My lord, if may be bold enough to say" he halted then continued "Don't you think you are over-estimating the strength of our enemy? I mean, you issued new orders to gather a quarter of our forces instead of earlier tenth just to invade a wayward island. Don't you think it is a bit of an over kill even for you"

Aiden remained silent for a bit more time then took a deep breath before giving a long sigh. "I have a bad feeling about this, Lord Manderly. Something is happening on that Island and no matter how many men I sent to gather more information, none have returned. And on top of that, this new Cold God the Skagossons are worshiping is giving me bad vibes"

Aiden took another small breath as his hand went to the pommel of his Valyrian sword ' _Ice'._ He turned to the Warden of White Knife "Send word to the captains. We leave in an hour. And give strict orders to the captains that they, along with a quarter of the men are to stay in the ship after we reach Skagos and that the ships are to be ready to depart the island on a moments notice"

Wyman made to say something but immediately backed off seeing the intense look in his lord's eyes. He vigorously nodded and hastily left the ringfort. As the fat lord disappeared over the corner Aiden turned to his familiar dire wolf and stroked his head and behind his ears, earning a low whine as an approval of his ministrations.

He kneeled in front of his familiar so that he can be at the dire wolf's eye level. "I have an important task for you Sirius. I want you to stay and protect my mother, Alys, and other Stark children while I go deal with the Skagossons. Want to do that for me" he asked, scratching the sides of his jaw. Sirius barked at him human familiar as if asking 'do you even have to ask'. Aiden chuckled and started making way to his family to give them his goodbyes and the black dire wolf trotted down beside his two legged friend.

The farewell affair with his family was an eventful scene to say the least. While his surrogate mother clinged to him, not wanting to let him leave for the invasion, his betrothed and his cousins Robb and Jon wanted to come with him. Catelyn did not know whether to feel disastrous that her surrogate son is leaving for war so early in his life or to admonish the children for wanting to go to war. Finally after several promises to return safe and in no time he managed to free himself from his family and climbed his ship _'Fury'_ , his uncle Stannis's gift to him for his coming of ten and four name day. He did not get a chance to modify his ship to his needs but planned on doing to so after they returned from Skagos.

The trip to Skagos will take two days as the captains will need to be extra careful while dealing with the treacherous currents around the isle. Luckily, there are no autumn storms on the horizon at the moment because if they are caught in one, sailing for them would have become extra hazardous. Aiden still could not shake off that bad feeling and prayed to the gods to make the rest of their journey go without a hitch. With that last thought in mind, Aiden drifted off to sleep and embraced the realm of dreams.

* * *

 **F/N:** **I believe that you all noticed that I started calling the North again. After the last chapter, I got an overwhelming amount of requests to not change the name of the North or if I do, give a damn good reason to do so. So until I can think of a better name or give a good reason for the previous name, the North will remain the same. Please review and send your opinions of the chapter. Thank you**


End file.
